IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


#^'.» 


W' 


CIHM/iCMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions 


Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiqties 


1980 


!■■ 


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Uri( 
bes 
the 
sioi 
oth 
firs 
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or  i 


The 
she 
TIN 
whi 

Mai 
diff 
enti 
beg 
righ 
reqi 
met 


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10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

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y 

12X 

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24X 

28X 

32X 

ails 

du 

>difier 

une 

nage 


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et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


rrata 
to 


pelure, 
n  d 


n 


32X 


1 

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1 

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4 

5 

6 

FORT  Levi 

ficmMnrMb  IlistOTy. 


'<■»««  Ak'ifi' 


THE 


Thousand  Islands 


OF    THE 


, 


•  River  jSt.  Lawf^ence 


With  Descriptions  of  their  Scenery,  as  given  by  Travellers 

from  different  Countries,  at  various  periods  since 

their  First  Exploration,  and  Historical 

Notices  of  Events  with  which 

they  are  associated. 


EDITED    BY 


FRANKLIN    B.    HOUGH 


Syracuse,  N.  Y.: 
DAVIS,   BARDEBN  &  CO.,   PUBLISHERS. 

1880. 


FC 

He  rs- 


Copyright,  1880, 
By  Franklin  B.  Hough. 


PREFACE. 


The  route  of  the  St,  Lawrence  has  long  been  noted 
for  the  variety  and  beauty  of  its  scenery.  The  traveller 
coming  up  from  the  Sea,  should  he  turn  aside  to  ex- 
plore the  chasm  of  the  Saguenay,  would  witness  a 
scene  of  grandeur  scarcely  equalled  by  any  other  of 
its  kind,  in  any  part  of  the  world.  Further  up, 
the  Rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence  present  in  succession 
displays  of  majestic  power  and  volume  that  command  ad- 
miration, and  on  finally  reaching  the  level  of  navigable 
waters  above,  the  approach  to  the  first  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
leads  through  a  labyrinth  of  Islands,  which,  for  variety  of 
scenery  and  quiet  beauty,  have  seldom  failed  to  awaken 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  traveller. 

To  this  group  of  Islands,  with  their  historical  associa- 
tions, and  the  impressions  which  their  scenery  has  inspired, 
this  little  volume  is  mainly  devoted. 

In  arranging  the  materials  of  this  work,  the  editor  has 
been  necessarily  engaged,  in  a  large  degree,  in  presenting  the 
thoughts  of  others;  but,  believing  that  the  enjoyment  of 
this  scenery  would  be  enhanced  by  learning  the  manner  in 
which  it  has  impressed  those  who  have  witnessed  it  before, 
he  has  sought  to  present  as  wide  a  range  of  these  impres- 
sions as  opportunities  allowed. 


9t  PBS  FA  OK 

No  one  will  doubt  but  that  places  acquire  extraordinary 
interest,  when  associated  with  great  events,  or  even  when 
linked  in  with  the  ideal  incidents  of  poetry  and  romance. 
In  allusion  to  the  interest  which  these  associations  impart 
to  so  many  places  in  the  Old  World,  while  there  are  com- 
paratively few  in  the  New,  the  naturalist  Wilson,  in  whom 
were  united  a  keen  perception  of  the  beauties  of  Nature, 
and  a  highly  poetic  temperament,  in  the  opening  part  of 

his  Foresters,  says: 

•'  Yet  Nature's  charms,  that  bloom  so  lovely  here, 
Unbailed  arrive,  unheeded  disappear ;     ^  ,^        ,, 
While  bare,  bleak  heaths,  and  brooks  of  half  a  mile, 
Can  rouse  the  thousand  bards  of  Britain  s  Isle. 
There,  scarce  a  stream  creeps  down  its  narrow  bed, 
There,  scarce  a  hillock  lifts  its  little  head. 
Or  humble  hamlet  peeps  their  glades  among. 
But  lives  and  murmurs  in  immortal  song. 
Our  western  world,  with  all  its  matchless  floods, 
Our  vast  transparent  lakes  and  boundless  woods. 
Stamped  with  the  traits  of  majesty  sublime, 
Unhonored  weep  the  silent  lapse  of  time 
Spread  their  wild  grandeur  to  the  unconscious  sky. 
•  In  sweetest  seasons  pass  unheeded  by ; 
While  scarce  one  Muse  returns  the  song  they  gave, 
Or  seeks  to  snatch  their  glories  from  the  grave. 

In  some  of  the  prose  descriptions  that  follow,  the  reader 
will  find  a  poetry  of  sentiment  and  imagery  of  thought, 
that  cannot  fail  to  engage  the  attention.  In  others,  there 
are  incidents  and  events  described,  that  may  add  new  in- 
terest to  this  region,  especially  those  relating  to  the  ac- 
counts of  travel  in  the  olden  time,  with  the  humble  ac- 
commodations and  the  discomforts  of  the  period,  that 
afford  a  striking  contrast  with  the  exact  appointments, 
and  the  ample  luxuries  of  the  present  day. 


F.  B.  H. 


Lowville,  N.  T. 


|-(lgTOF\ICy\L  AND  Jf(AD1TI0j^AL  ^CCOUJ^T^, 


I 


THE 


THOUSAND  ISLANDS 


OF   THE 


St.  LAWRENCE 


EARLY  INDIAN  HISTORY. 

"In  the  beginning,"  so  far  as  history  or  traditions  extend 
back  into  the  past,  this  region  was  the  border-iand  of  the 
Algonquin  and  the  Iroquois,— the  former  dwelling  for  the 
most  part  to  the  northward  and  eastward,  while  the  latter, 
at  least  in  the  later  period,  had  their  principal  homes  along 
the  lakes  and  rivers  of  Central  and  Western  New  York. 

At  various  places  upon  the  hills  that  overlook  the  level 

portions  of  Jefferson  County,  and  here  and  there  in  St. 

Lawrence  County  below,   are  traces  of  ancient  defensive 

works,  consisting  of  a  low  ridge  and  a  shallow  ditch,  more  or 

less  circular  in  outline,  or  made  across  a  point  of  land  that 

was  on  the  other  sides  protected  by  natural  banks  easy  of 

defense.    These  were,  doubtless,  banks  of  earth,  thrown 

up  against  the  base  of  upright  posts  set  close  together  in 

the  ground,  and  before  the  introduction  of  fire-arms,  they 
1 


10 


EARLY  INDIAN  HISTORY. 


must  have  Becu  an  effective  shelter  against  any  means  of 
assault  known  in  Indian  warfare.  Around  these  places, 
and  in  localities  that  must  have  been  pleasant  homes  for  a 
people  that  lived  by  hunting  and  fishing,  there  are  found 
broken  pottery,  stone  implements,  and  flint  arrow  heads, 
which  obscurely  mark  the  residence,  and  indicate  the  em- 
ployment of  a  race  that  has  passed  away.  In  a  field  on  the 
hillside  east  of  Watertown,  there  was  found  many  years 
since  a  flat  stone,  covering  a  little  pit  full  of  bones  that 
had  evidently  been  picked  up  and  buried  by  friendly 
hands  after  long  exposure  on  the  surface,  and  some  of 
these  had  evidently  been  gnawed  by  wild  beasts.  Was 
this  the  place  of  some  battle  between  the  native  tribes  ?  In 
one  of  these  trench-enclosures  in  the  town  of  Rutland 
4;here  have  been  found  human  bones  in  the  places  where 
the  combatants  must  have  fallen  in  attempting  to  enter  or 
defend  this  stronghold  of  the  olden  time. 

The  early  historians  of  Canada  record  the  fact,  that  a 
bloody  war  was  going  on  between  the  Adirondacks  or 
Algonquins  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  Iroquois  or  Five 
Nations  of  the  region  now  included  in  Central  and  Western 
New  York,  when  the  country  was  first  visited  by  the 
French.  Champlain  took  part  in  this  war  on  the  part 
of  the  former,  and  by  the  use  of  fire-arms,  hitherto  un- 
known in  Indian  warfare,  turned  the  tide  of  success  for  a 
time  in  favor  of  his  allies — but  gained  thereby  the  lasting 
hatred  of  their  enemies  towards  the  French.  The  origin 
of  this  warfare  is  traced  by  tradition  to  a  long  time  before 
the  first  appearance  of  the  white  man,  and  although  not 


"mtx^ 


EARLY  INDIAN  HISTORY.  11 

measured  by  moons  or  seasons,  it  still  ai)peared  to  bo  con- 
sistent, and  probable, — and  according  to  the  little  that 
could  be  gathered,  was  as  follows  :^ 

The  Algonquins  and  the  Iroquois  had  lived  for  a  long 
time  in  harmony,  the  former  being  the  stronger,  and  chiefly 
subsisting  by  the  chase,  while  the  latter  were  more  inclined 
to  fishing  and  agriculture.  Now  and  then  the  young  men 
of  the  two  races  would  go  out  on  their  hunting  expeditions 
together,  but  in  these  the  superiority  of  the  man  who 
killed  the  game,  over  him  who  skinned  and  dressed  it,  was 
always  insisted  upon,  and  when  the  party  saw  an  oppor- 
tunity, it  was  the  business  of  the  one  to  pursue  and  slay, 
and  of  the  other  to  stand  by  and  see  it  done. 

At  one  time,  half  a  dozen  of  each  class  were  out  in  the 
winter  on  a  hunting  excursion  together.  They  saw  some 
elk,  and  immediately  pursued  them,  but  the  Algon- 
quins, presuming  on  their  superiority,  would  not  suffer  the 
young  Iroquois  to  take  part,  at  the  same  time  giving  them 
to  understand  that  they  would  soon  have  business  enough 
on  hand  in  taking  care  of  the  game  they  were  about  to  kill. 
Three  days  were  spent  in  vain  pursuit,  for  although  they 
say  there  was  an  abundance  of  game,  ill  luck  followed 
them  at  every  step. 

At  length  the  Iroquois  offered  to  go  out  themselves,  and 
the  former  not  doubting  but  that  a  like  failure  would  soon 
put  an  end  to  their  unwelcome  comments  upon  their  own 
efforts,  consented.     The  tide  of   success    turned  in  their 


(1)  La  Hontan,  De  la  Potherie,  Golden,  Charlevoix,  etc. 


12 


EARLT  mniAN  HICTORT. 


favor,  and  the  Iroquois  soou  returned  with  an  abundance 
of  game.  Mortified  at  this  result,  the  jealous  Algonquius 
the  next  night  killed  all  of  their  successful  rivals,  as  taey 
lay  sleeping.  The  crime,  although  concealed  and  denied, 
was  soon  discovered,  and  the  Iroquois  at  first  made  their 
complaints  with  moderation — simply  asking  that  justice 
should  be  done  to  the  murderers. 

No  attention  was  made  to  these  complaints,  and  the  in- 
jured party  took  justice  into  their  own  hands,  solemnly 
vowing  to  exterminate  the  haughty  race,  or  perish  in  the 
attempt.  Long  serss  of  retaliatory  inroads  were  from 
this  time  made  by  each  into  the  territories  of  the  other, 
which  finally  ended  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  Iro- 
quois, and  in  the  almost  total  annihilation  of  their  enemies. 
The  St.  Francis  Indians  are  a  remnant  of  this  once  power- 
ful tribe. 

At  the  time  of  first  surveys,  the  traditional  line  between 
the  Indians  of  Canada  and  the  Iroquois  of  New  York,  ex- 
tended from  the  mouth  of  French  Creek,  in  the  village  of 
Clayton,  across  the  country  to  Split  Rock  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain;  and  on  the  map  drawn  by  Arent  Marselis,a  surveyor 
of  the  last  century,  and  now  found  in  the  State  archives, 
one  of  his  lines  runs  '  'to  an  old  fort,  which  stood  on  the 
creek  called  WeferingJira-Gnentere^,  and  which  empties 
into  the  St.  Lawrence,  about  twelve  miles  below  Carleton 


(1)  The  Rev.  Eleazer  Williams,  of  St.  Regis — (by  some 
thought  to  have  been  Prince  Louis  XVII,  of  France),  who 
v/as  well  acquainted  with  the  Oneida  dialect,  informed  the 
writer  about  1853,  that  this  term  signifies  "Fallen  Fort." 


iiil 


LEGEND  OF  HIAWATHA. 


IS 


or  Buck  Island,  and  which  fort  the  Oneidas  took  from 
their  enemies  ?  long  time  ago. " 

This  fixes  the  identity  of  this  dlream  as  the  "French 
Creek"  of  the  present  day,  and  the  site  of  the  fort,  as  in  or 
near  the  present  village  of  Clayton.  It  ma}'  tend  to  con- 
firm the  tradition  recorded  by  La  Hontan,  Colden,  Charle- 
voix, and  others,  and  furnish  a  connecting  link  between 
written  bistory  and  the  unrecorded  past. 


HIAWATHA. 

The  Legend  of  Hiawatha  has  been  rendered  familiar  to 
most  readers  of  American  Poetry  by  the  metrical  version 
of  Longfellow,  and  the  prose  of  Clark,  Schoolcraft  and 
others,  and  much  controversj'  has  been  had  with  respect  to 
the  author  of  the  Legend  as  it  first  appeared  in  English. 
We  accept  as  fully  reliable,  the  statement  made  by  the  late 
Hon.  J.  y.  H.  Clark,  of  Manlius,  author  of  the  History  of 
Onondaga  County,  in  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Tribune,  in 
January,  1856,  in  which  the  claims  of  various  writers,  and 
the  dates  of  their  publications  are  precisely  stated. 

From  this  it  appears,  that  it  was  first  related  to  him  by 
the  Onondaga  CI  vefs  Ossahinta,  (Capt.  Frost),  and  Hehat- 
katons,  (Abram  La  Fort),  in  the  Summer  of  1843, — written 
out  and  read  before  various  societies,  and  in  March,  1844, 
sent  to  the  New  York  Historical  Society.  It  was  after- 
w^ards  published  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  without  acknowledg- 
ment to  Mr.  Clark,  in  his  "Notes  on  the  Iroquois,'''^  and 
some    years   later  in  his  larger  work  on   the    "  History ^ 

(1)  Pages  192,  478. 


u 


LEGEND  OF  HIAWATHA. 


Condition,  and  Prospects  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United 
States."^  Finally  it  appeared  in  the  more  familiar  and 
highly  imaginative  versification  of  ''  The  Song  of  Hiawa- 
tha," by  the  poet  Longfellow,  in  1855,  in  which  credit  is 
given  to  Mr.  Schoolcraft  as  the  original  writer  from  Indian 
traditions,  he  probably  not  having  seen  the  earlier  publica- 
tions of  Mr.  Clark. 

The  Legend  relates  to  the  Origin  of  the  League  of  the 
Iroquois,  at  a  time  Avhich  no  record  fixes  by  date,  and  no 
circumstance  acceptable  to  the  historian  would  lead  him  to 
locate  otherwise  than  somewhere  in  that  period  clouded 
in  the  uncertainties  of  the  forgotten  past.  We  cannot  pre- 
sent its  beginning,  which  is  in  this  region,  more  appropri- 
ately than  in  the  original  language  of  Mr.  Clark ^ : — 

"  Hundreds  of  years  ago,  Ta-oun-ya-irat-ha,  the  Deity 
who  presides  over  fisheries  and  streams,  came  down  from 
his  dwelling  place  in  the  clouds  to  visit  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth.  He  had  been  deputed  by  the  Great  and  Good 
Spirit,  Ha-wa-ne-u  to  visit  the  streams  and  clear  the  chan- 
nels from  all  obstructions,  to  seek  out  the  good  things  of 
the  country  through  which  he  intended  to  pass,  that  they 
might  be  more  generally  disseminated  among  all  the  good 
people  of  the  earth, — especially  to  point  out  to  them  the  most 
excellent  fishing  grounds,  and  to  bestow  upon  them  other 
acceptable  gifts.  About  this  time,  two  young  men  of  the 
Onondaga  Nation  were  listlessly  gazing  over  the  calm  blue 
waters  of  the  Lake  of  a  Jliousand  Isles.  During  their 
reverie  they  espied,  as  they  thought,  far  in  the  distance,  a 
single  white  speck,  beautifully  dancing  over  the  bright  blue 
waters,  and  while  they  watched  the  object  with  the  most 
intense  anxiety,  it  seemed  to  increase  in  magnitude,  and 
moved  as  if  approaching  the  place  where  they  were  con- 
cealed, most  anxiously  awaiting  the  event  of  the  visitation 


(1)  Part  3,  page  314,  etc. 

(2)  History  of  Onondaga  Co.,  i,  p.  21. 
of  Indian  and  Pioneer  Life,  p.  7 — 21. 


Lights  and  Lines 


LEGEND  OF  HIAWATHA. 


15 


of  so  singular  an  object, — for  ai  this  time  no  canoes  had  ever 
made  their  appearance  in  tlie  direction  from  wlience  this 
was  approaching.  As  the  object  neared  the  shore,  it  proved 
in  semblance  to  be  a  venerable  looking  man,  calm)-  seated 
in  a  canoe  of  pure  white,  very  curiously  constructed,  and 
much  more  ingeniously  wrought  than  those  in  use  among 
the  tribes  of  the  country.  Like  a  cygnet  upon  the  wide 
blue  sea,  s  >  sat  the  canoe  of  To-oiuiya-mit-ha,  upon  the 
Lake  of  a  Thoumiul  Ide>*. 

As  a  frail  branch  drifts  towards  the  rushing  cataract,  so 
coursed  the  white  canoe  over  the  rippling  waters,  propelled 
by  the  strong  arm  of  the  god  of  the  river.  Deep  thought 
sat  on  the  brow  of  the  gray-headed  mariner:  penetration 
marked  his  eye,  and  deep  dark  mystery  pervaded  his 
countenance.  With  a  sin2:le  oar  he  silently  paddled  his 
light-trimmed  bark  along  the  shore,  as  if  seeking  a  com- 
niodious  haven  of  rest.  He  soon  turned  the  prow  of  his 
fragile  vessel  into  the  estuary  of  the  '  double  river ,'  and 
made  fast  to  the  western  shore.  lie  majestically  ascended 
the  steep  bank,  nor  stopped  till  he  had  gained  the  loftiest 
summit  of  the  western  hill.  Then  silently  gazing  around 
as  if  to  examine  the  country,  he  became  enchanted  with 
the  view,  and  drawing  his  stately  form  to  its  utmost 
heiglit,  he  exclaimed  in  accents  of  the  wildest  enthusiasm, 
OhIi - icha-kee,  O.sh-icah-kee. " ^ 

He  approached  the  two  young  hunters,  gained  their  con- 
fidence, and  having  drawn  from  them  a  knowledge  of 
the  difficulties  under  which  they  labored,  disclosed  to  them 
the  spirituality  of  his  character,  and  the  object  of  his  mis- 
sion. He  invited  them  to  attend  him  in  his  passage  up  the 
river,  and  they  witnessed  many  things  which  could  only 
be  accounted  for  as  miracles,  or  be  described  but  in  the 
wonders  of  Indian  mythology.  He  ascended  to  the  lesser 
lakes,  placed  all  things  in  proper  order  for  the  comfort 
and  sustenance  of  man,  taught  them  how  to  cultivate  corn 
and  beans,  which  had  not  before  been  grown  by  them, 
made  the  fishing  ground  free,  and  opened  to  all  the  unin- 

(1)  The  name  Osh-wah-kee,  as  "Oswego,"  was  anciently 
called,  literally  signifies  '  I  see  everyicliere  and  I  see  noth- 
ing.''— Clark's  Onondaga,  i,  23. 


^fflJ'JrV*.-, 


X6 


LEGEND  OF  HIAWATHA. 


li 


I  ''I 


II 


terrupted  pursuit  of  game.  He  distributed  among  man- 
kind tlie  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  removed  all  obstructions 
from  the  navigable  streams.  Being  pleased  with  his  suc- 
cess, he  assumed  the  character  and  habits  of  a  man,  and 
received  the  name  Hi-a-icat-ha,  (signifying  "very  wise 
man,")  and  fixed  his  residence  on  the  beautiful  shores  of 
Cross  Lake.  After  a  time,  the  country  became  alarmed  by 
a  hostile  invasion,  when  he  called  a  Council  of  all  the 
tribes  from  the  east  and  the  west,  and  in  a  long  harangue 
urged  upon  them  the  importance  of  uniting  themselves  in 
a  league  for  their  common  defense  and  mutual  hapjjiness. 
They  deliberated  upon  his  advice,  and  the  next  day 
adopted  and  ratified  the  League  of  Union  which  he  recom- 
mended. As  Lycurgus  gave  law  to  the  Spartans,  and 
swore  them  to  faithfully'  observe  its  precepts  until  his 
return  from  a  journey, — and  then  departed  to  return  no 
more,  so  Hi-a-irat-ha,  having  brought  this  Council  to  a 
close,  and  as  the  assembled  tribes  were  about  to  separate, 
on  their  return  home,  aro.se  in  a  dignified  manner,  and 
thus  addressed  them : 

"  Friends  and  Brothers : — I  have  now  f.lfilled  my  mis- 
sion upon  earth;  I  have  done  everything  which  can  be 
done  at  present  for  the  good  of  this  great  people.  Age, 
infirmity  and  distress,  sit  heavily  upon  me.  During  my 
sojourn  among  3'ou,  I  have  removed  all  obstructions  from 
your  streams.     Canoes  can  now  i)ass  everywhere.     I  have 

fiven  you  good  fishing  waters  and  good  hunting  grounds, 
have  taught  you  how  to  cultivate  corn  and  beans,  and 
have  learned  you  the  art  of  making  cabins.  Many  other 
blessings  I  have  liberally  bestowed  upon  you. 

Lastly,  I  have  now  assisted  j'ou  to  form  an  everlasting 
league  and  covenant  of  strength  and  friendship,  for  your 
future  safety  and  protection..  If  you  preserve  it  without 
the  admission  of  other  people,  you  will  always  be  free, 
numerous  >»nd  might3^  If  other  nations  are  admitted  to 
your  councils,  they  will  sow  jealousies  among  you,  and 
you  will  become  enslaved,  x'ew  and  feeble.  Remember 
these  words :  they  are  the  last  you  will  hear  from  the  lips 


if- 


LEGEND  OF  HIAWATHA. 


17 


of  Hi-a-wat-fia.  Listen,  my  friends,  tlie  Greof-Mafifcr-of- 
Breath  calls  me  to  go.  I  have  patiently  waited  his  sum- 
mons.    I  am  ready:  Farewell," 

As  the  wise  man  closed  his  speech,  there  burst  upon  the 
ears  of  the  assembled  multitude,  the  cheerful  sounds  of 
the  most  delightful  singing  voices  The  whole  sky  seemed 
filled  with  the  sweetest  melody  of  celestial  music:  and 
Heaven's  high  arch  echoed  and  re-echoed  the  touching 
strains,  till  the  whole  vast  assembly  was  completely  ab- 
sorbed in  rapturous  ecstacy.  Amidst  the  general  confu- 
sion which  now  prevailed,  and  while  all  eyes  were  turned 
towards  the  etherial  regions,  Hi-a-icat-ha  was  seen  majes- 
tically seated  in  his  canoe,  gracefully  rising  higher  and 
higher  above  their  heads  through  the  air,  until  he  became 
entirely  lost  from  the  view  of  the  assembled  throng,  who 
witnessed  his  wonderful  ascent  in  mute  and  admiring 
astonishment  —  while  the  fascinating  music  gradually 
became  more  plaintive  and  low,  and  finally  sweetly  ex- 
pired in  the  softest  tones  upon  their  ears,  as  the  wise  man 
Hl-a-irat-hn,  the  godlike  Ta-oun-ya-irat-ha,  retired  from 
their  sight,  as  mysteriously  as  he  first  appeared  from  llie 
Lake  of  a  Thousand  Isles,  and  quietlj'^  entered  the  regions 
inhabited  only  by  the  favorites  of  the  great  and  good  spirit 
Ila-icah-ne-u. 

In  the  Legend  as  rendered  by  Longfellow,  no  allusion  to 

this  region  is  specifically  made,  and  the  scene  of  events 

is  located  in  the  west,  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior, 

in  the  region  beyond  the  Pictured  Rocks  and  the  Grand 

Sable. 

CREATION   OF   THE    INDIAN   RACE. 


Among  the  traditions  of  various  Indian  tribes,  we  find  a 
Legend  of  their  creation,  which  although  differing  more  or 
less  in  details,  agrees  in  ascribing  their  origin  to  a  people 


18 


CREATION  OF  THE  INDIAN  RACE. 


who  came  out  of  the  ground.  Of  tliis  mythological  belief, 
we  have  an  interesting  example  in  this  part  of  the  world, 
as  given  by  i\I.  Pouchot,  a  French  writer  of  acRnowledged 
merit,  who  recorded  what  he  saw  and  heard.  This  writer 
was  an  officer  in  the  French  service,  and  commanded  Fort 
Levis,  on  the  Oraconenton  Isle,  a  short  distance  below 
Ogdensburgh,  when  this  last  strong-hold  of  the  French  was 
captured  by  Lord  Amherst  in  1760. 

He  subsequently  prepared  a  history  of  the  events  in  which 
he  had  himself  borne  an  important  part,  which  was  pub- 
lished some  years  after  his  de'ith,  and  in  this  he  gives  much 
information  concerning  the  Indians  who  then  inhabited 
this  region.  In  describing  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  he 
speaks  of  a  great  arc  of  sand  hills,  along  the  eastern  end  of 
the  lake,  behind  which  are  marshy  meadows,  through 
which  the  rivers  wind. 

This  description  clearly  identifies  these  streams  with  those 
now  known  as  the  North  and  South  Branches  of  Sandy 
Creek,  in  the  town  of  EUisburgh,  which  unite  just  above 
the  point  where  they  enter  the  lake.  These  streams  were 
called  by  the  French  ''Au  Sables,"  and  by  the  Indians,  E(- 
cat-a-ra-ga-re-ne-,  and  he  says  they  are  remarkable  in  thisa, 
that  at  the  head  of  the  South  Branch,  called  Te-can-on-on-a- 
ro-ne-si,  is  the  place  where  the  traditions  of  the  Iroquois  fix 
the  spot  "where  they  issued  from  the  ground,  or  rather, 
according  to  their  traditions,  loliere  they  icere  horn." 

The  source  of  this  stream  is  in  a  swamp  in  the  present 
town  of  Pinckney,  Lewis  County.  Another  branch  of 
Sandy  Creek  heads  near  Copenhagen  Village,  not  far  from 


BECORDS.— EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY. 


19 


the  little  swamp,  once  a  pond,  in  which  the  tusk  of  a 
mammoth  was  found  in  excellent  preservation  in  the  Fall  of 
1877, — the  rest  of  the  remains  being  in  all  probability  near 
by.  If  any  one  can  connect  the  tradition  with  tliis  fact, 
he  deserves  credit,  at  least  for  inventive  genius  and  fer- 
tile imagination. 

TRACES  OF  INDIAN  RECORDS    ON  THE  ST.    LAWRENCE. 

Opposite  the  village  of  Oak  Point,  in  Elizabeth  Town- 
ship, Canada,  there  existed  in  1850,  and  perhaps  does  still, 
a  rude  representation  of  a  canoe  with  thirty -five  men,  and 
near  it  a  cross.  On  the  rocks  below  Brockville  there  were 
two  similar  paintings,  each  being  a  canoe  with  six  men. 
A  deer  rudely  painted  on  the  rocks  was  found  on  the  shore 
of  Black  Lake,  a  few  miles  inland  from  Morristown,  and 
doubtless  other  rude  sketches  of  the  kind  may  be  found. 
These  are  probably  of  comparatively  modern  origin,  or  at 
most  not  earlier  than  the  time  of  European  settlement. 
They  may  have  been  significant  of  some  event,  at  the  time 
when  made,  but  whatever  the  objects  may  have  been,  they 
have  passed  into  oblivion  with  the  memory  of  those  who 
made  them. 

EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATIONS. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  1535,  Jacques  Cartier  with  three 
vessels  entered  the  Gulf,  which,  in  honor  of  the  Saint 
whose  feast  is  celebrated  on  that  day,  he  named  St.  Law- 
rence^.    The  name  came  afterwards  to  be  applied  to  the 

(1)  Charlevoix,  Hist.  delaNouvelle  France,  i,  15. 
According  to  Ecclesiastical  history.  Saint  Lawrence  lived 


20      E  U ROPE  AN  DISCO  VER  Y.  —EXPEDITIONS. 

noble  river  thtit  here  flowed  into  the  sea,  affording  drainage 
to  a  country  of  vast  extent,  and  presenting  scenery  along 
its  course  which  for  majestic  grandeur,  variety  and  beauty, 
has  no  parallel  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

The  first  European  who  visited  Lake  Ontario  was  Samuel 
Champlain,  in  1615.  He  mentions  only  that  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  there  are  some  beautiful 
and  very  large  islands  in  the  passage,  but  his  descriptions 
are  so  meagre,  and  his  map  so  imperfect,  that  we  find  little 
definite  information  as  to  the  exact  route  that  he  took,  or 
the  places  Ihat  he  visited  in  this  journey. 

In  1659,  Father  Simon  LeMoine,  in  going  to  Onondaga, 
records  his  progress  up  the  rapids  with  considerable  full- 
ness, but  makes  no  allusion  to  the  islands.  In  fact,  for  the 
next  fifty  years  the  record  is  almost  a  blank ;  yet  from  time 
to  time  the  early  French  explorers  pursued  their  journeys 
up  and  dowm  the  river,  and  doubtless  from  these  this  group 
of  islands  acquired  the  name  ''Milles  lies,  "as  a  general  term, 
expressing  a  gi'eat  and  infinite  number,  rather  than  with 
the  least  idea  of  approximation  at  the  truth.    It  is  not  until 

1665-6  that  we  get  a  description  in  any  way  intelligible  or 
correct. 

EXPEDITIONS  OF  DE  COrRCEI-LE  AND  DE  TRACy! 

In  the  papers  relating  to  De  Courcelle's  and  De  Tracy's 
expeditions  against  the   Mohawk    Indians^    (1665-6),    in 

in  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era,  and  suffered 
martyrdom  under  the  Roman  Emperor  Valerian,  in  the 
year  258. 

(1)  Dociimentary  History  of  New  York,  I,  63.  From  the 
•"Jesuit  Relations,"  1664  and  1665. 


i 


J 


DE  COURCELLES  AND  BE  TRACY. 


»t 


describing  the  routes  leading  into  the  Iroquois  country,  the 
navigation  of  tlie  St.  Lawrence  is  mentioned  as  exceedingly 
difficult  until  the  rapids  are  passed :  ^ 

"But  when  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Lake  is  reached,  the 
navigation  is  easy,  when  the  waters  are  tranquil,  becoming 
insensibly  wider  at  first,  then  about  two-thirds,  next  one- 
lialf ,  and  finally  out  of  sight  of  land ;  especially  after  one 
has  passed  an  infinity  of  little  islands  which  are  at  the 
entrance  of  the  lake  in  such  great  numbers,  and  in  such  a 
variety,  that  the  most  experienced  Iroquois  Pilots  some- 
times lose  themselves  there,  and  have  considerable  diffi- 
culty in  distinguishing  the  course  to  be  steered,  in  the 
confusion,  and,  as  it  were,  in  the  labyrinth  formed  by  the 
islands,  which  otherwise  have  nothmg  agreeable  beyond 
their  multitude.  For  these  are  only  huge  rocks  rising  out 
of  the  water,  covered  merely  by  moss,  or  a  few  spruce  or 
other  stunted  wood,  wiiose  roots  spring  from  the  clefts  of 
the  rocks  which  can  supply  no  other  aliment  or  moisture  to 
these  barren  trees  than  what  the  rains  furnish  them.  After 
leaving  this  melancholy  abode,  the  Lake  is  discovered, 
appearing  like  unto  a  sea  without  islands  or  bounds,  where 
barks  and  ships  can  sail  in  all  safety,  so  that  the  communi- 
cations would  be  easy  between  all  the  French  colonies  that 
could  be  established  on  the  borders  of  this  Great  Lake 
which  is  more  than  a  hundred  leagues  long,  by  thirty  or 
forty  wude." 

FRENCH  MISSIONARIES. 

Among  the  pioneers  of  discovery,  were  the  Missionaries 
who  vs^ere  sent  out  to  gain  the  friendship  and  secure  the 
conversion  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  interior.  These 
zealous  men  allowed  no  obstacles  or  dangers  to  interrupt 
their  efforts,  or  dampen  their  ardor,  but  with  an  energy  and 
perseverance  that  cannot  fail  to  excite  our  admiration,  they 
pursued  their  way  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  interior, 
where  some  lived  many  years  among  the  savages,  amid  all 
the  privations  of  a  wilderness,  and  others  were  murdered, 


fSfS         FRENCH  CATHOLIC  MISSIONARIES. 

or  miserably  perished  in  tlie  solitudes  of  the  forest.  Wo 
can  here  mention  but  a  few  of  these  pioneers  and  dis- 
coverers : 

Franf;ois  de  Saliguac  de  Fenelou,  half  brother  of  the 
illustrious  French  writer,  the  Archbishop  of  Cambray, 
came  to  Canada  in  1667,  and  was  for  some  time  eugagi^d  in 
the  Indian  Missions  at  Toronto  and  elsewhere. 

The  Abbe  Fenelon  accompanied  the  Count  de  Frontenac 
to  Lake  Ontario  in  1673,  and  in  a  difficulty  that  arose 
between  the  Count  and  Gov.  Pcrrot,  he  took  sides  with  the 
latter.  ^ 

Louis  Hennepin,  a  Franciscan,  came  to  Canada  in  1675, 
and  was  stationed  the  next  j^ar  at  Frontenac.  He  was 
afterwards  sent  by  La  Salle  to  explore  the  country, 
and  was  the  first  European  who  saw  the  Mississippi  river. 
In  1697,  after  the  death  of  his  patron,  he  published  an 
account  of  remote  regions  that  lie  pretended  to  have  visited, 
but  whicli  is  now  regarded  in  part  at  lest  as  a  fiction. 
Father  Marquette  also  made  extensive  journe3''s  in  the  west, 
and  died  at  Mackinaw,  May  14,  1675.  Menard,  Allouez 
and  many  otliers  passed  this  way  on  their  journej's  to  dis- 
tant points,  but  these  men  were,  as  a  rule,  little  given  to 
romantic  descriptions,  and  their  "relations"  pertain  more 
to  the  proper  object  of  their  Missions,  than  to  the  scenery 
that  they  passed. 

Father  Emanuel  Crespel,  in  a  little  work  published  in 
1743,  describes  some  incidents  of  a  journey  into  the  Indian 

(1)  Colonial  History  of  New   York,  ix,  p.  113. 


•m,rnf^*'9fmi^mm 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  FORT  FRONTENAC.    23 

country  on  the  Upper  Lakes.  He  was  tifteen  days  goiug 
from  Moritreal  to  Frontenac,  and  was  there  detained  houio 
time  in  waiting  for  a  vessel  to  Niagara.  Tliis  was  of  about 
eiglity  tons  burthen,  and  apparently  tlie  only  one  then  on 
the  lake.  The  passage  was  made  in  less  than  thirty-six 
hours.  The  lake  was  very  calm,  and  he  sounded  with  a 
line  of  a  hundred  fathoms  without  finding  bottom. 

On  his  return  he  remained  two  years  at  Frontenac,  when 
he  was  recalled  to  Montreal,  and  soon  afterwards  was  sent  to 
La  Pointe  de  la  Chevelure^  on  the  east  side  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  in  the  present  State  of  Vermont,  and  opposite  the 
French  post  at  Crown  Point. 


FIRST  MILITARY    ESTABLISHMENT    UPON    LAKE    ONTARIO— 
FORT   FRONTENAC. — (1673.) 

In  order  to  protect  the  French  interests,  the  Count  de 
Frontenac  resolved  to  establish  a  military  post  at  the  outlet 
of  the  Lake,  and  with  the  view  of  impressing  the  natives 
with  the  power  of  the  French,  he  resolved  to  take  two  flat 
bottomed  canoes  up  the  rapids,  and  even  to  mount  them 
with  cannon,  to  inspire  them  with  awe.  The  boats  were 
l)uilt  after  a  particular  model,  painted  unlike  anything 
ever  seen  before,  and  were  each  manned  by  sixteen  men. 
With  these  and  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  bark  canoes 
he  left  Montreal  on  the  16th  of  June,  and  in  about  three 
weeks  reached  the  beginning  of  smooth-water  navigation. 
Hearing  that  the  Indians  had  assembled  in  great  numbers, 

(1)  "Scalp  Point."  This  writer  describes  in  detail  the 
origin  of  the  name,  and  the  customs  that  it  indicates. 


I 


I 


III 


24    ESTABLISHMENT  OF  FORT  FRONTENAC. 

and  were  uneasy  about  the  object  of  his  expedition,  he  re- 
Holved  to  proceed  With  caution,  in  one  body,  and  in  closer 
column  than  before.  The  weather  was  so  serene,  and  the 
navigation  so  smooth,  that  they  made  more  than  ten 
leagues  the  first  day,  and  went  into  camp  at  a  cove  about  a 
league  and  a  half  from  Otondiata^  where  the  eel  fishing 
begins.     In  his  Journal  he  says  : 

"We  had  the  pleasure  on  the  way  to  catch  a  small  loon,  a 
bird  about  as  large  as  a  J^uropeau  Outarde,  of  the  most 
beautiful  plumage,  but  very  difficult  to  be  caught  alive, 
as  it  dives  constantly  under,  so  that  it  is  no  small  rarity  to 
be  able  to  take  one.  A  cage  was  made  for  it,  and  orders 
were  given  to  endeavor  to  raise  it,  in  order  to  send  it  to  the 
King.  On  the  11th  [of  July],  the  weather  continuing  fine, 
a  good  day's  journey  was  made,  having  passed  all  that 
vast  group  of  islands  with  which  the  river  is  spangled,  and 
camped  at  a  point  above  the  river  called  by  the  Indians 
OnnomUikouP ,  up  which  many  of  them  go  hunting.  It  has 
a  very  considerable  channel.  Two  more  loons  were  caught 
alive,  and  a  scanouton,  which  is  a  kind  of  deer,  but  the 
head  and  antlers  are  handsomer  than  the  deer  of  France." 

The  narrative  continues  with  an  account  of  the  regal 
manner  with  Avhich  the  Count  do  Frontenac  entered  the 
Lake,  and  the  interviews  he  had  with  the  Indians.  In 
short,  nothing  which  pomp  and  ceremony — the  w^aviug  of 
banners,  martial  music,  and  the  discharge  of  cannon  could 
do,  was  omitted,  to  impress  the  wondering  natives  with  an 
overwhelming  idea  of  the  omnipotence  of  the  French. 
The  speeches  and  proceedings  of  the  occasion  are  all  found 
fully  recorded 3.     The  outline  of  a  fort  was  at  once  traced 

(1)  "Toniata"  was  what  is  now  known  as  Grenadier  Is- 
land, above  Brockville. 

(2)  Gananoqui. 

(3)  Colonial  History  of  NeiD  York,  ix.,  95.  Hist.  St.  Law- 
rence and  Franklin  Counties,  (1853),  32. 


EXPEDITION  OF  VELA  BARRE. 


U 


out,  and  its  construction  commenced.  Beginning  work  by 
daylight  on  the  14th,  the  ground  was  cleared  before  night. 
The  Indians  were  astonished  to  see  the  large  clearance 
made  in  a  day — some  squaring  timber  in  one  place ;  others 
fetching  pickets;  and  others  cutting  trenches,  all  at  the 
same  time,  and  with  the  greatest  dispatch  and  order. 

EXPEDITION  OF  DE  LA  BARRE. — (1684.) 

De  la  Barre,  Governor  of  Canada  from  1682  to  1685,  had 
distinguished  himself  in  the  West  Indies,  where  he  had 
taken  Antigua  and  Montserat  from  the  English.  In  1684, 
he  repaired  to  Fort  Frontenac,  and  ordered  three  vessels 
which  the  French  had  built  upon  the  Lake  to  be  repaired, 
with  the  design  of  crossing  to  the  country  of  the  Iroquois, 
and  frightening  the  people  into  his  own  terms  of  peace. 
His  army  consisted  of  600  soldiers,  400  Indians,  and  400 
men  for  carrying  provisions,  besides  300  men  left  in  the 
fort.  1 

The  Governor  tarried  six  weeks  at  Frontenac,  his  ta- 
campment  being  near  a  pestilential  marsh,  causing  so  great 
sickness  and  mortality  that  he  found  himself  unable  to 
accomplish  his  object  by  force  of  arms.  He  accordingly 
resolved  to  effect  what  he  could  by  treaty,  and  having 
vainly  hoped  to  obtain  the  co-operation  of  Gov.  Dongan^ 
he  sent  agents  to  invite  the  Five  Nations  to  a  Council. 

(1)  Colden's  Hist,  of  the  Mm  Nations,  p.  77. 

Charlevoix  says  (i,  490)  that  the  force  consisted  of  700' 
militia,  130  regulars,  and  200  Indians.  The  official  report 
made  at  Frontenac,  Aug.  14th,  gave  34  officers  and  780- 
men.  De  Meules,  the  Intendant,  says,  900  men  and  300- 
Indians. 
2 


$6 


DE  LA  BARRELS  EXPEDITION. 


The  Governor  of  New  York,  although  in  sympathy  with 
the  religiouH  influences  so  actively  employed  by  the 
French,  did  not  consent  to  any  concurrence,  but  secretly 
put  every  obstacle  in  the  way ;  and  in  this  he  so  far  suc- 
ceeded, that  the  Mohawks  and  Senecas  remained  at  home. 
The  other  tribes,  who  were  more  under  tlie  influence  of 
the  French  missionaries,  sent  j\^presentatives  to  meet  him, 
consisting  of  Garangula,^  and  tliixty  warriors.  The  place 
of  meeting  was  at  "La  Famine, "^  or  Kaihahage,  at  the 
eastern  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  about  thirty  miles  from 
Onondaga  Castle. 

After  remaining  two  days  in  the  French  Camp,  the 
Governor  proceed3d  to  address  the  Indians,  a  circle  being 
formed  by  the  French  officers  on  one  side,  and  Garangula 
and  his  w^arriors  on  the  other. 

Speech  of  Oovernor  De  la  Barre. 

The  King,  my  Master,  being  informed  that  the  Five 
Nations  have  often  irfringed  the  Peace,  has  ordered  me  to 
come  hither  with  a  guard,  and  to  send  Ohquasse^  to  the 
Onnondagas,  to  bring  the  chief  sachems  to  my  camp.  The 
intention  of  the  great  King  is,  that  you  and  I  maj  smoke 
the  Calumet  of  Peace  together,  but  on  this  condition,  thai 

(1)  This  Indian  was  not  a  sachem,  but  only  an  orator  of 
the  Onondaga  tribe.  His  real  name  was  "Hotereonati," 
"Hoteonati,"  or  "Oureonati,"  as  variously  spelled.  He 
was  called  by  the  French  Grand  Guule,  "Big  Mouth," 
from  -7:hich  is  formed  the  name  as  given  in  the  text. 

(2)  Supposed  to  be  at  the  mouth  of  Salmon  River,  or 
Sandy  Creek.  Our  account  of  interview  is  taken  from 
Colden's  Hist,  of  the  Five  Nations,  (1727,)  and  that  author 
followed  the  Baron  La  Hontan  (1705,)  very  literally.  A 
version  different  in  language,  but  substantially  the  same  in 
substance,  is  given  the  official  account  published  in  the 
Colonial  Historjy  of  New  York, 

(3)  M.  Le  Main.     This  word  signifies  a  Partridge. 


liy  with 
by   the 
secretly 
far  suc- 
t  houae. 
ence  of 
et  him, 
e  place 
at  the 
s  from 

P,  the 
i  being 
angula 


>  Mm 
me  to 
0  the 
The 
moke 
.  thai 


;,  or 
Tom 
thor 
A 
e  in 
the 


SPEECH  OF  GOVERNOR  BE  LA  BARRE.       27 

you  promise  me,  in  the  name  of  the  Cayiir/as,  Onnondagas, 
Oneydoes  and  Mohawks,  to  give  entire  satisfaction  and  repa- 
ration to  his  subjects,  and  for  tlie  future  never  to  molest 
them.  The  Sennekas,  Cayuga»,  Onnondagas,  Oneydoes  and 
Mohawks,  have  robbed  and  abused  all  the  traders  that  were 
passing  towards  the  Illinois,  and  Umamies,  and  other 
Indian  Nations,  the  children  of  my  King.  They  have 
actt  d  on  these  occasions  contrary  to  the  Treaty  of  Peace, 
with  my  predecessers.  I  am  ordered  therefore  to  demand 
satisfaction,  and  to  tell  them,  that  in  case  of  refusal,  or 
their  plundering  us  any  more,  that  I  have  express  orders 
to  declare  war.      Tais  belt  confirms  my  words. 

The  warriors  of  the  Five  Nations  have  conducted  the  Eng- 
lish into  the  lakes,  whicli  belong  to  the  King  my  master,  and 
brought  the  English  among  the  nations  that  are  his  chil- 
dren, to  destroy  the  trade  of  his  subjects,  and  to  withdraw 
those  nations  from  him.  They  have  carried  the  English 
thither,  notwithstanding  the  prohibition  the  late  Governor 
of  New  York,  who  foresaw  the  risk  that  both  of  you 
would  run.  I  am  willing  to  forget  these  things,  but 
if  ever  the  like  shall  happen  for  the  future,  I  have  express 
orders  to  declare  war  against  you.  This  belt  confirms  my 
words. 

Your  warriors  have  made  several  barbarous  incursions 
on  the  Illinois  and  Umamies.  They  have  massacred  men 
women  and  children,  and  have  made  many  of  these  two 
nations  prisoners,  who  thought  themselves  safe  in  their  vil- 
lages in  time  of  peace.  These  people,  who  are  my  King's 
children,  must  not  be  your  slaves ;  you  must  give  them  their 
liberty,  and  send  them  back  into  their  own  country.  If 
the  Five  Nations  shall  refuse  to  do  this,  I  have  express 
orders  to  declare  war  against  them.  This  belt  confirms  my 
words. 

This  is  what  I  had  to  say  to  Garangula  that  he  mviy 
carry  to  the  Sennekas,  Cayugas,  Onnondagas,  Oneydoes  and 
Mohaicks  the  declaration  whicli  the  King  my  master  has 
commended  me  to  make.  He  doth  not  wish  them  to  force 
him  to  send  a  great  army  to  Caderackqiii  Fort,  to  begin  a 
war,  which  must  be  fatal  to  them.  He  would  be  sorry 
that  this  fort,  which  is  a  work  of  peace,  should  become  the 
prison  of  your  warriors.  We  must  endeavor  on  both  sides 
to  prevent  such  misfortunes.  The  French,  who  are  the 
brethren  and  friends  of  the  Five  Nations,  will  never  trouble 


28 


REPLY  OF  GARANGULA. 


their  repose, — provided  that  satistaction  whicli  I  demand  is 

fiven,  and  that  the  Treaties  of  Peace  be  hereafter  observed, 
shall  be  extremely  grieved  if  my  words  do  not  produce 
the  effect  which  1  expect  from  them ;  for  then  I  shall  be 
obliged  to  join  with  the  Governor  of  New  York,  who  is 
commanded  by  his  master  to  assist  me,  and  burn  the  castles 
of  the  Five  Nations,  and  destroy  you.  This  belt  confirms 
my  words. 

Garangula,  (who  was  well  informed  as  to  the  distresses 
of  the  French),  while  the  Governor  was  speaking  kept  his 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  end  of  his  pipe,  and  as  soon  as  he  fin- 
ished, he  rose.  After  walking  five  or  six  times  around  the 
circle,  he  returned  to  his  place,  where  he  spoke  standing, 
while  De  la  Barre  remained  seated  in  his  arm  chair. 

Garangula's  Ansioer, 

Tonnondio,  ^  I  honor  you,  and  the  warriors  that  are  with 
me  likewise  honor  you.  Your  interpreter  has  finished  your 
speech ;  I  now  begin  mine.  My  words  make  haste  to  reach 
your  ears — harken  to  them. 

Yonnondio,  you  must  have  believed  when  you  left  Que- 
bec, that  the  sun  had  burnt  up  all  the  forests  which  render 
our  countr}^  inaccessable  to  the  French,  or  the  lakes  had 
so  far  overflown  their  banks,  that  they  had  surrounded  our 
castles,  and  that  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  get  out  of  them. 
Yes,  Yonnondio,  surely  you  must  have  thought  so,  and  the 
curiosity  of  seeing  so  great  a  country  burnt  up,  or  under 
water,  has  brought  you  so  far.  Now  you  are  undoc^  ived, 
since  that  I  and  my  warriors  are  come  to  assure  you,  that 
the  Sennekas,  CayugcL^,  Onnondagas,  Oneydoes  and  Moliawks 
are  all  alive.  I  thank  you  in  their  name,  for  bringing  back 
into  their  country  the  Calumet  which  your  predecessor  re- 
ceived from  their  hands.  It  was  happy  for  you  that  you 
left  underground  that  murdering  hatchet,  whicli  has  been 
so  often  dyed  in  the  blood  of  the  French.  Hear,  Yonnon- 
dio, I  do  not  sleep.  I  have  my  eyes  open,  and  the  sun 
which  enlightens  me  discovers  to  me  a  great  captain  at  the 
head  of  a  company  of  soldiers  who  speaks  as  if  he  were 

(1)  Yonnondio,  or  Onnontio,  signifying  "Great  Moun- 
tains," was  the  name  applied  to  the  Governor  of  Canada. 


I 


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i 


dreaming.  He  says  that  he  only  came  to  the  Lake  to  smoke 
on  the  great  Calumet  with  the  Onnondagas,  But  Oaran- 
gula  says,  that  he  sees  the  contrary,  that  it  was  to  knock 
them  on  the  head,  if  sickness  had  not  weakened  the  arms 
of  the  French. 

I  see  Yoniiondio  raving  in  a  camp  of  sick  men,  whose 
lives  the  Great  Spirit  has  save'  by  inflicting  this  sickness 
on  them.  Hear,  Yonnondio, — our  women  had  taken  their 
clubs,  our  children  and  old  men  had  carried  their  bows  and 
arrows  into  the  heart  of  your  camp,  if  our  warriors  had 
not  disarmed  tnem,  and  retained  them  when  your  messen- 
ger Ohquasse  appeared  in  our  castle.  It  is  done,  and  I  have 
said  it. 

Hear,  Yonnondio,  we  plundered  none  of  the  French,  but 
those  that  carried  guns,  powder  and  ball  to  the  Ticihties^ 
and  CJdctaghicks,  because  those  arms  might  have  cost  us 
our  lives.  Herein  we  follow  the  example  of  the  Jesuits, 
who  stave  all  the  barrels  of  rum  brought  to  our  castle, 
lest  the  druinken  Indians  should  knock  them  on  the  head. 
Our  warriors  have  not  beavers  enough  to  pay  for  all  these 
arms  that  they  have  taken,  and  our  old  men  are  not  afraid 
of  the  war.     This  belt  preserves  my  wards. 

We  carried  the  English  into  our  lakes,  to  traflfic  there 
with  the  Utaicas  and  Qutoghies'^,  an  the  Adirondacks  hvought 
the  French  to  our  castles  to  carry  on  a  trade  which  the 
English  say  is  theirs.  We  are  born  free.  We  neither  de- 
pend upon  Yonnondio  nor  Corlaer^. 

We  may  go  where  we  please,  and  carry  with  us  whom 
we  please,  and  buy  and  sell  what  we  please.  If  your  allies 
be  your  slaves,  use  them  as  such.  Command  them  to 
receive  no  other  but  your  own  people.  TJiis  belt  jyreserves 
my  words. 

We  knockt  the  Twihties  and  ChicPigltiks  on  the  head 
because  they  cut  down  the  Trees  of  Peace,  which  were  the 

(1)  Miamis.  (2)  Hurons. 

(3)  Arendt  Corlaer  was  a  Dutch  agent  held  in  high  esteem 
by  the  Mohawks,  He  was  drowned  in  Lake  Champlain, 
while  passing  Split  Rock,  and  the  traditions  of  the  Indians 
long  preserved  the  incidents  of  that  event.  He  was  then  on 
his  way  to  Canada  upon  public  business  relating  to  the 
welfare  of  the  country.  The  name  came  afterwards  to  be 
applied  to  the  English  Governors. 


UiM 


so 


SPEECH  OF  GARANGULA. 


I  .  ! 


I 


I       * 


limits  of  our  country.  They  have  hunted  beavers  on  our 
lands ;  they  have  acted  contrary  to  the  customs  of  all  In- 
dians; for  they  left  none  of  the  beavers  alive,  they  killed 
botn  male  and  female.  The^  brought  the  Satanas  into 
their  country  to  take  pari  with  them,  and  armed  them, 
after  they  had  concerted  ill  designs  against  us.  We  have 
done  less  than  either  the  English  or  French,  that  have 
usurped  the  lands  of  so  many  Indian  nations,  and  chased 
them  from  their  own  country.   This  belt  preserves  my  icords. 

Hear,  Tonnondio.  What  I  say  is  the  voice  of  the  Mve 
Nations.  Hear  what  they  answer.  Open  your  ears  to  what 
they  speak.  The  Sennecas,  Cayugas,  Onnondagas,  Oney- 
does  and  Mohawks  say:  That  when  they  buried  the  hatchet 
at  Caderacqui,  (in  the  presence  of  your  predecessor),  in  the 
middle  of  the  fort,  they  planted  the  Tree  of  Peace  in  the 
same  place,  to  be  there  preserved,  that,  in  place  of  a  retreat 
for  soldiers,  that  fort  might  be  a  rendezvous  of  merchants; 
that  in  place  of  arms  and  munitions  of  war,  beavers  and 
merchandise  should  only  enter  there. 

Hear,  Tonnondio,  take  care  of  the  future,  that  so  great  a 
number  of  soldiers  as  appear  here  do  not  choke  the  Tree  of 
Peace  in  so  small  a  fort.  It  will  be  a  great  loss,  if  after  it 
had  so  easily  taken  root,  you  should  stop  its  growth,  and 
prevent  its  covering  your  country  and  ours  with  its 
branches,  I  assure  you  in  the  name  of  the  Five  Nations, 
that  our  warriors  shall  dance  to  the  Calumet  of  peace  under 
its  leaves,  and  shall  remain  quiet  on  their  mats,  and  shall 
never  dig  up  the  hatchet  till  their  brethren  Tonnondio  or 
Corlaer  shall  either  jointly  or  separately  endeavor  to  attack 
the  country  which  the  Great  Spirit  has  given  to  our  ances- 
tors. This  belt  preserves  my  words,  and  this  other  the  author- 
ity icJiich  the  Five  Nations  have  given  me. 

Then  Garangula,   addressing  himself  to  M.   Le  Main, 

said : — 

Take  courage,  Ohquasse,  you  have  spirit,  speak,  explain 
m^  words,  forget  nothing.  Tell  all  that  your  brethren  and 
friends  say  to  Tonnondio,  your  Governor,  by  the  mouth  of 
Garangula,  who  honors  you,  and  desires  you  to  accept  this 
present  of  beavers,  and  take  part  with  me  in  my  feast,  to 
which  I  invite  you.  This  present  of  beavers  is  sent  to  Ton- 
nondio,  on  the  part  of  the  Five  Nations. 


INVASION  OF  THE  IROQ  UOIS,  IN  1688.        31 

De  la  Barre  returned  to  his  tent  enraged  at  what  he  had 
heard,  but  powerless  to  resent  it.  When  he  had  set  out  for 
Montreal  with  the  few  soldiers  who  remained  in  health,  the 
militia  made  the  best  of  their  way  to  their  homes,  without 
order  or  discipline.  ^    . 

EXPEDITION    OF    DE  NONVILLE. — (1685.) 

In  1685,  the  Marquis  De  Nonville  made  an  expedition  into 
the  Genesee  country,  but  left  no  record  of  local  interest 
concerning  the  Islands. 


i 


THE  AVENGING  INROAD  OP  THE  IROQUOIS  UPON 
THE  FRENCH. — (1688  ) 

Early  in  July,  1688,  an  act  of  perfidy  on  the  part  of  the 
French,  brought  down  upon  their  settlements  the  terrible 
vengance  of  the  Iroquois.  Passing  down  the  St.  Lawrence, 
they  landed  at  Lachine  on  the  26th  of  July,  and  fell  upon 
the  unsuspecting  inhabitants,  burning,  plundering  and 
massacreing  in  all  directions,  and  almost  up  to  the  defenses 
of  Montreal.  They  lingered  weeks  in  the  country,  laid 
waste  the  settlements  far  and  wide,  and  returned  wuth 
the  loss  of  only  three  men.  The  French  lost  about  a 
thousand  persons  by  this  inroad,  and  many  prisoners  were 
carried  off  for  a  fate  worse  than  sudden  death. 

The  French  at  Fort  Frontenac,  were  obliged  to  burn  the 
two  vessels  they  had  on  the  Lake,  and  abandon  the  fort, 
first  setting  a  slow  match  to  the  powder  magazine.     The 


(1)  Extended  accounts  of  De  la  Barre's  expedition  will 
be  found  in  the  Colonial  History  of  New  York,  vol.  i,  and 
in  the  Documentary  History  of  New  York,  vol.  i. 


32 


ONONDAGA  EXPEDITION 


fire  happened  to  go  out  before  the  powder  was  reached,  ard 
the  place  was  soon  plundered  by  the  Indians.  The  garri- 
son set  out  in  seven  bark  canoes,  traveling  only  by  night, 
and  hiding  by  day,  and  after  much  difficulty  reached  Mon- 
treal with  the  loss  of  one  canoe  and  all  on  board. 

De  Nonville  witnessed  the  devastation  of  his  colony 
without  daring  to  resist  the  enemy  while  engaged  in  their 
work  of  ruin,  nor  on  their  return.  He  was  succeeded  the 
next  year  by  Frontenac,  who  arrived  late  in  the  season,  to 
the  infinite  joy  of  the  surviving  inhabitants.  They  had 
formerly  known  his  ability  as  a  Governor,  and  had  suffered 
beyond  measure  from  the  timidity  and  incompetence  of 
their  late  ruler.  The  year  1688  was  long  remembered  in 
Canada  as  "the  year  of  the  massacre. " 

ONONDAGA  EXPEDITION  OF  THE  COUNT  DE  FRONTENAC. 

In  1696,  the  Count  de  Frontenac  made  an  incursion  into 
the  country  of  the  Onondagas,  but  the  only  mention  that 
he  makes  of  this  region,  is  his  encampment  for  a  night 
upon  the  Ileau  ClieweuiU,  now  known  as  Carleton  Island. 

SUBSEQUENT  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  ON  LAKE 

ONTARIO. 

During  the  next  fifty  years,  the  French  were  steadily 
extending  their  trade,  and  endeavoring  to  attach  the  remote 
Indian  tribes  to  their  interests.  In  1687,  they  established 
a  fort  at  Niagara,  and  in  1722,  the  English  built  a  trading 
house,  and  in  1727,  a  fort  at  Oswego.  Although  England 
and  France  were  during  much  of  this  time  at  peace,  and 
the  Governors  of  their  colonies  on  terms  of  correspondence, 


\\\ 


h 


i,  ard 
garri- 
night, 
Mon- 


INDIAN  MISSION  A  T  OODENSB URGH.       33 

there  was  probably  no  period  down  to  the  conquest  of  1760 
during  which  each  of  the  two  powers  was  not  busy  through 
its  agents,  in  endeavoring  to  monopolize  the  Indian  trade, 
and  in  extending  its  influence  with  the  native  tribes. 

INDIAN    MISSION     AT     OSWEGATCHIE  ;      LA    PRESENTATION. 

(1749.) 

A  considerable  number  of  Iroquois,  chiefly  Onondagas, 
having  been  induced  to  settle  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  a  mis- 
sion was  established  in  1749,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Oswe- 
gatchie,  on  the  t.'ite  of  the  present  city  of  Ogdensburgh. 
This  mission  was  named  La  Pi'esentatkm,  and  its  founder 
was  Francis  Picquet,  a  Sulpician.  During  the  first  season 
he  built  a  store  house  and  a  small  fort,  but  before  the  end 
of  the  year  his  settlement  was  attacked  by  a  band  of  Mo- 
hawks, who  burned  two  vessels  loaded  with  hay,  and  the 
palisades  of  the  fort.  After  this,  some  soldiers  were  sta- 
tioned here  for  protection.  The  station  progressed  rapidly, 
and  in  1751  a  saw  mill  was  begun. 

The  English  who  had  built  a  trading  house  and  a  fort  at 
Oswego  many  years  before,  naturally  looked  with  jealousy 
upon  this  establishment  by  the  French.  "Word  was 
brought  to  them  by  the  Indians,  concerning  their  posts 
lately  erected  on  the  Ohio,  and  the  informant  said  "he 
heard  a  bird  sing,  that  a  great  manj^  Indians  from  his  castle, 
and  others  from  the  Five  Nations,  were  gone  to  Swegage." 

In  June,  1754,  the  celebrated  Congress  of  Representa- 
tives from  the  English  Colonies,  met  at  Albany,  to  consider 
a  Plan  of  Union  for  their  common  defense,  and  on  this 
occasion  these  encroachments  were  fully  discussed. 


S4 


MISSION  AT  LA  PRESENTATION. 


In  the  war  which  followed,  La  Presentation  became  a 
point  of  outfit  and  rendezvous  for  many  of  the  war  parties 
that  laid  waste  the  frontier  settlements  of  the  English,  from 
which  they  usually  returned  bringing  prisoners  and  scalps, 
Many  of  these  expeditions  were  led  by  Picquet  himself. 
Thomas  Mante  in  his  history  of  the  French  war,  says  : 

"As  to  the  Abbe  Picquet,  who  distinguished  himself  so 
much  by  his  brutal  zeal,  as  he  did  not  expose  himself  to 
any  danger,  he  received  no  injury;  and  he  yet  lives  justly 
despised  to  such  a  degree  by  every  one  who  knows  any- 
thing of  his  past  conduct  in  America,  that  scarce  any  ora- 
cer  will  admit  him  to  his  table.  However  repugnant  it 
must  be  to  every  idea  of  honor  and  hunuinity,  not  to  give 
quarter  to  an  enemy,  when  subdued,  it  must  be  infinitely 
more  so,  not  to  spare  women  and  children.  Yet  such  had 
often  been  the  objects  of  the  Abbe  Picquet's  cruel  advice, 
enforced  by  the  most  barbarous  examples,  especially  in  the 
Encjlish  settlements  on  the  back  of  Virginia  and  Pennsyl- 
vania."^ 

He  returned  to  France,  where  he  died  July  15,  1781.    He 

was  succeeded  at  La  Presentation  by  La  Garde,  a  Sulpician, 

and  the  mission  was  continued  until   broken  up  in  1760. 

The  Oswegatchies  continued  to  live  on  the  south  shore  and 

on  the  islands  at  the  head  of  the  Rapids  until  1806,  when 

the  proprietor  of  the  lands  caused  their  removal,  a  part 

going  to  St. Regis, and  others  returning  to  Onondaga.  Some 

(1)  In  a  biography  by  La  Lande,  of  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  published  in  the  Lettres  Edifiantes  et  Ourieuses, 
(Lyons,  1819,  p.  262),  an  account  is  given  of  the  zealous 
partizan  spirit  of  M.  Picquet,  "The  war  parties  which  de- 
parted and  returned  continually,  filled  the  mission  with  so 
many  prisoners,  that  their  numbers  frequently  surpassed 
that  of  the  warriors,  rendering  it  necessary  to  empty  the 
villages,  and  send  them  to  headquarters."  Robert  East- 
burn,  who  was  many  months  a  prisoner  here,  wrote  an 
account  of  his  captivity,  and  confirms  the  above  statement. 


CAPTURE  OF  OSWEGO  BY  MONTCALM.      35 

years  since,  the  corner-stone  of  a  building  erected  near  the 
site  of  the  present  light-house,  at  the  entrance  of  the  har- 
bor at  Ogdensburgh,  was  found  in  taking  down  the  build- 
ing. It  may  now  be  seen  over  the  door  of  a  building 
erected  for  a  State  arsenal  in  that  City,  and  bears  the  fol- 
lowing inscription  : 

In  nomine  -{-  Dei  Omnijiofentis 
*Haic  hahitationi  initia  dedit 
Frans  Picquet.     1749. 
These   premises   remained   standing    when    settlement 
began  under  title  from  the  State,  in  1796,  and  until  long 
afterwards.     They  were  fitted  up  for  a  store  and  for  dwel- 
lings, until  better  could  be  built,  and  the  site  of  the  founda- 
tions may  still  be  traced. 

OPERATIONS  IN  1755-6  :     CAPTURE  OF  OSWEGO. 

The  war,  which  ended  in  the  conquest  of  Canada,  is 
without  incident  so  far  as  relates  to  the  Thousand  Islands; 
but  many  events  occurred  upon  this  frontier,  which  became 
the  thoroughfare  of  large  armies,— the  only  communica- 
tion then  known  being  by  the  river,  between  the  settled 
parts  of  Canada  and  the  upper  lakes. 

In  the  summer  of  1755,  the  French  were  engaged  in 
strengthening  the  post  at  Frontenac,  and  later  in  the  season 
at  Niagara.  The  first  detachment  in  going  up  was  met  by 
a  party  of  Indians  among  the  Islands,  on  the  1st  of  August. 
They  had  a  number  of  scalps,  and  gave  the  first  informa- 
tion received  in  Canada  of  the  defeat  of  Braddock's  army 
near  Fort  DuQufense  a  fortnight  before.  This  success  of 
the  French  determined  many  of  the  Indians  to  take  up 


■xfj: 


I 


!'i 


i      p 


36       CAPTURE  OF  OSWEGO  BY  MONTCALM. 

arms  against  the  English,  and  many  of  the  cannon  cap- 
tured on  that  occasion,  were  used  by  tlie  French  at  Niagara 
and  elsewhere  on  the  northern  border  during  the  following 
year. 

In  1756,  considerable  bodies  of  troops  were  sent  from 
France,  and  in  May,  the  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  Gen.  Bour- 
lamaque,  two  engineers,  and  an  army  of  1,350  regulars, 
1,500  Canadians  and  250  Indians,    ascended  the  river  to 

Fort  Frontenac,  and  M.  de  Villers  with 
500  men  established  a  post  of  observation 
on  Six-town  Point,  in  the  present  town 
of  Henderson,  Jefferson  County, — the 
outlines  of  which  may  still  be  plainly 
traced.     It  was  square,  built  of  upright 

r„   ,,.  ,         timbers,  with  bastions  at  the  corners, 

\ Outline  and  sec-       ,  .    ,  ,  ,.^  ,  , 

tion  of  a  stockade  and  was  surrounded  by  a  ditch,— and 

in  Henderson.']  at  the  time  hidden  from  view  by 
surrounding  trees  and  bushes.  This  officer,  who  was  cap- 
tain of  the  marine,  was  brave  and  prudent,  and  had  greatly 
annoyed  the  English  by  pillaging  their  munitions,  and 
obliging  them  to  take  great  precautions  in  sending  provis- 
ions to  their  troops  at  Oswego. 

Montcalm  left  Fort  Frontenac  for  Point  Peninsula,  on 
the  5th  of  August,  and  on  the  7th  the  French  appeared 
before  Oswego.  There  were  at  this  time  two  forts  at  this 
place — ^Fort  Ontario  on  the  east  side,  and  Fort  Pepperell 
on  the  west.  The  latter  then  newly  erected,  was  120  feet 
square, — a  rampart  of  earth  and  stone,  20  feet  thick,  and 
12  feet  hight,  besides  the  parapet. 


-—rm 


-'"h"nT'"^ 


CAPTURE  OF  OSWEGO  BY  MONTCALM.      37 

The  French  began  their  approaches  on  the  12th,  and  on 
the  next  day  the  English,  having  spiked  their  guns,  and 
destroyed  their  provisions  and  ammunition,  withdrew  to 
the  old  fort  on  the  eastern  bank.  This  Colonel  Mercer  was 
also  obliged  to  surrender  on  the  17th.  The  English  force 
consisted  of  2,400  men,  who  yielded  upon  terms  dictated 
by  Montcalm,  with  all  their  effects,  munitions,  arms  and 
military  stores. 

It  is  stated  by  English  historians^  that  notwithstanding 
the  pledges  of  Montcalm,  twenty  of  the  garrison  were 
given  up  to  the  Indians,  by  way  of  atonement  for  the  loss 
of  friends,  and  that  all  the  sick  in  the  hospital  were 
scalped.  At  least  one  hundred  men  are  said  to  have  fallen 
victims  to  Indian  ferocity  after  the  surrender,  the  remain- 
der being  taken  down  to  Montreal,  where  they  were  mostly 
exchanged.  The  French  did  not  attempt  to  hold  this  post 
aftf  r  surrender,  but  most  of  the  provisions  were  sent  to 
Niagara  and  the  artillery  to  Frontenac  and  Montreal.  Ac- 
cording to  Pouchot,  the  Government  got  small  returns  of 
the  booty,  as  it  was  mostly  stolen  or  converted  to  private 
use  by  the  commissaries,  stewards  and  other  agents  of  the 
service,  who  lost  no  opportunity  of  enriching  themselves 
at  the  King's  expense.  Some  of  the  very  articles  captured, 
were  sold  back  to  the  Government  through  contractors. 
Two  sloops  were  set  on  lire  by  the  French,  and  cast  adrift 
upon  the  lake.     The  greater  part  of  the  French  army  re- 


(1)  Entick,  i,  452;    Mante  i,  72.    See  also   Oarneau,   (a 
Canadian  author,)  iii,  67,  71. 


98       DESTR  UCTION  OF  FORT  FRONTENA  C. 

turned  a  week  afterwards  to  Montreal,  and  appeared  later 
the  same  season  upon  Lake  Champlain. 

DESTRUCTION   OF   FORT  FRONTENAC,    (1758). 

In  August,  1758,  Colonel  John  Bradstreet  arrived  at  Os- 
wego with  an  army  of  3,340  men,  and  crossed  the  liake  to 
Fort  Frontenac,  which  he  captured  with  a  trifling  loss. 
After  destroying  the  fort,  and  securing  what  he  could  of 
the  immense  military  stores  there  deposited,  he  returned 
without  accident  to  Oswego.  He  repaired  the  works  on 
the  east  side  of  the  river  at  that  place,  which  remained  in 
British  possession  until  surrendered  under  treaty  in  June, 
1796. 

EXPEDITION  OF  LORD  AMHERST,    (1760). 

The  war  between  the  French  and  English  in  North 
America,  which  begun  in  1755,  had  led,  by  the  end  of  1759, 
to  the  reduction  of  Niagara,  Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point, 
and  Quebec.  To  complete  the  conquest,  three  expeditions 
were  planned  for  1760;  one  from  Quebec,  another  by  way 
of  Lake  Champlain,  and  a  third  by  way  of  Oswego  and 
the  St.  Lawrence  River.  The  latter  was  placed  under 
General  Jeffrey  Amherst,  and  the  forces  assembled  at  Os- 
wego were  reported  on  the  5tli  of  August,  as  consisting  of 
the  Ist  and  2d  batallion  of  Royal  Highlanders,  the  44th, 
46th  and  55th  regiments,  the  4th  batallion  of  the  60th,  8 
companies  of  the  77th,  5  of  the  80th,  597  Grenadiers,  an 
equal  number  of  light  infantry,  146  rangers,  3  batallions  of 
the  New  York  regiment,  the  New  Jersey  regiment,  4  ba- 
tallions of  the  Connecticut  regiment,  and  157  of  the  Royal 


1 


mmmmm 


— B 


EXPEDITION  OF  LORD  AMIIER3T.  89 

Artillery— amounting  in  all  to  10,142  effective  men,  officers 
included.  There  were  besides  706  Indian  warriors  under 
Sir  William  Johnson  ^ 

The  first  detachment  of  troops  sailed  in  two  vessels,  the 
Mohawk  and  the  Onondafja*,  on  the  7th,  to  take  post  at  the 
entrance  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  On  the  13th  all  had  em- 
barked, and  on  the  evening  of  that  day  they  encamped  at 
the  head  of  the  St.  Lawrence".  Captain  Loring,  with  the 
two  vessels,  who  had  been  the  first  to  leave  Oswego,  lost 
his  way  among  the  Islands,  and  while  endeavoring  to  ex- 
tricate himself,  the  main  army  passed  him.  They  however 
arrived  a  day  or  two  after  at  Point  au  Baril,  near  the  pres- 
ent village  of  Maitlaud,  where  the  French  the  year  before 
had  built  a  dock,  and  tut  Wished  a  fortified  ship-yard. 
The  gi'enadiers  and  row-g  '^  -ys  had  in  the  meantime  taken 
an  advanced  position  at  Oswegatchie,  preparatory  to  an 
attack  upon  Fort  Levis. 

This  fort  stood  upon  an  island  called  Oraco?ienton  by  the 
Indians,  and  lie  Boy  ale  by  the  French, — about  three  miles 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Oswegatchie,  and  near  the  middle 


(1)  Knox  gives  the  Indian  force  at  one  time  as  1,330,  be- 
longing to  17  different  settlements  or  tribes,  but  it  was 
reduced  by  desertion  to  706,  before  the  expedition  left 
Oswego.     {Campaigns,  ii,  400,  402.) 

(2)  According  to  Knox,  the  first  of  these  carried  10  sixes 
and  had  90  men ;  the  latter  carried  18  guns,  of  which  four 
were  9-pounders  and  the  rest  sixes,  with  100  men. 

(3)  The  army  embarked  on  the  two  vessels,  177  bateaux, 
and  73  whale  boats,  besides  further  allowances  for  the 
staff,  hospital  service  and  suttlers.  Each  bateau  had  8  oars, 
6  paddles,  and  4  setting-poles,  and  each  whale  boat  8  oars, 
12  paddles,  and  2  setting  poles,     {lb.  ii,  401). 


40 


DESCRIPTION  OF  FORT  LEVIS. 


of  the  channel,  which  it  completely  commanded.  In  mod- 
ern times,  it  is  known  as  Chimney  Island,  from  the  ruins  of 
the  French  works  still  visible  upon  it. 

The  works  upon  this  island  were  begun  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Chevalier  de  Levis^  in  the  summer  of  1759,  and 
finished  in  1760  by  Poucl.ot.  A  map  given  by  Mante 
shows  that  the  border  of  the  island  was  set  with  the  trunks 
of  trees  having  their  tops  still  on,  and  firmly  set  in  the 
ground,  so  as  to  present  an  impenetrable  abattis  of  brush, 
on  every  side  but  the  landing,  at  the  lower  end.  Within 
this  was  a  breastwork  of  earth,  and  behind  this  a  deep 
ditch  filled  with  water,  through  the  middle  of  which  there 
run  a  stockade  of  strong  sharpened  pickets,  closely  set  and 
sloping  outwards.  Inside  of  the  ditch  stood  the  fort  proper, 
consisting  of  a  timbt  parapet,  filled  with  earth,  with  a  line 
of  strong  sharpened  pickets  sloping  out  o^er  the  ditch,  and 
platformo  for  cannon,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  works  the 
magazines  and  quarters.  The  lower  point  of  the  island 
was  not  included  within  the  ditch  and  parapet,  but  had 
defensive  works  suflacicnt  to  prevent  the  landing  of  boats. 

Accounts  of  La  Presentation  and  of  Fort  Levis  by  vari- 
ous writers,  are  given  in  our  History  of  St.  Lawrence 
and  Franklin  counties,  but  our  limits  will  admit  of  only  a 
few.  A  small  church  stood  near  the  head  of  Gallop  Island, 
a  short  distance  below  the  fort,  at  the  time  when  this  post 
was  taken.     The  English  finding  a  scalp  displayed  in  the 

(1)  The  Due  de  Levis  after  his  return,  served  with  dis- 
tinction in  Europe.  In  1783  he  was  made  a  Marshal  of 
France,  and  the  next  year  a  Peer.     He  died  in  1787. 


CAPTURE  OF  A  FRENCH  VESSEL. 


41 


building,  burned  it  to  the  ground.  The  outline  of  the  foun- 
dations of  this  church  can  still  be  traced. 

The  events  attending  the  reduction  of  this  fort — the 
last  that  offered  any  resistance  in  Canada,  may  be  learned 
from  the  following  accounts :  one  by  Mante,  an  English 
historian  of  approved  credit,  and  the  other  by  Pouchot,  the 
French  officer  who  defended  the  fort,  and  afterwards  wrote 
a  history  of  the  war,  that  was  published  after  his  death. 
The  great  length  of  the  latter  will  make  it  necessary  to 
summarize. 

Mante,  after  describing  the  movements  of  the  English 
army  a",  above  given,  says:^ 

"All  this  while,  one  of  the  enemy's  vessels  kept  hover- 
ing about  the  army;  and  as  Captain  Loriug  had  not  yet  got 
into  the  right  channel,  it  became  necessary  for  the  safety  of 
the  army,  either  to  compel  this  vessel  to  retire,  or  to  take 
her.  The  General  was  therefore  obliged  to  order  Colonel 
Williamson,  with  the  row  gallies,  well  manned,  to  do  one 
or  the  other.  On  the  17th,  the  gallies-  advanced  with  the 
utmost  intrepidity,  under  a  heavy  fire  from  the  enemy ;  but 
it  did  not  in  the  least  dampen  the  ardor  of  the  assailants; 
their  fire  was  returned  with  such  resolution  and  bravery, 
that  after  a  severe  contest  of  almost  four  hours,  the  French 
vessel  str.ck  her  colors.  She  mounted  ten  twelve  pound- 
ers, and  had  on  board  100  men,  twelve  of  whom  were 
killed  or  wounded.  The  General  immediately  named  the 
vessel  the  'Williamson,'  in  honor  of  the  Colonel,  and  to  per- 
petuate the  memory  of  so  gallant  an  action.  The  same  dfi}'" 
the  vessel  proceeded  to  Oswegatchie,  from  whence  it  was 

(1)  History  of  the  Late  War  in  North  America.  By  Thos. 

Mante,  303. 

(2)  According  to  Knox,  four  of  the  gallies  each  carried  a 
brass  twelve  pounder,  and  one  a  howitzer.  The  vessel 
mounted  one  18,  seven  12,  and  two  8  pounders,  with  four 
swivels,  and  had  100  men  and  board.  She  discharged  72 
rounds,  and  the  galley  118.     (Campaign,  ii,  409.) 

3 


w 


42  INVESTMENT  OF  FORT  LEVIS. 

necessary  to  reconnoitre  Isle  Royal,  so  that  it  was  noon  the 
next  day  before  the  army  could  proceed.  ^ 

Fort  Levi  stood  on  an  island,  which  was  otherwise  very 
strongly  fortified.  Though  the  reduction  of  Fort  Levi  could 
be  of  little  service  merely  as  a  fort,  yet  it  was  certainly  of 
too  much  consequence  to  be  left  in  the  rear  of  the  army ; 
besides  the  number  of  pilots,  perfectly  acquainted  with  the 
navigation  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  which  the  taking 
of  the  garrison  prisoners  would  afford,  was  alone  a  suf- 
ficient motive  for  attacking  it.  It  was  therefore  invested 
that  very  evening.  Whilst  the  English  were  passing  the 
point,  the  French  kept  up  a  >'ery  smart  cannonade  upon 
and  destroyed  one  of  the  row-gallies  and  a  few  boats,  and 
killed  two  or  three  men:  but  notwithstanding  the  fire,  and 
an  uninterrupted  continuance  of  it,  the  fort  was  so  'Com- 
pletely invested  by  the  20th,  by  the  masterly  disposition  of 
the  troops,  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  the  garrison  to 
escape. 

Captain  Loring  had  arrived  the  day  before,  with  his  two 
vessels,  and  the  Wil'iamson  brig,  and  the  batteries  being 
now  ready,  the  general,  on  the  23d,  determined  to  assault 
the  fort,  that  as  little  time  as  possible  might  be  wasted  on 
it.  He  therefore  ordered  the  vessels  to  fall  dov.'r.  the 
stream,  post  themselves  as  close  to  the  fort  as  possible  and 
man  their  tops  w  ell,  in  order  to  fall  upon  the  enemy,  and 
prevent  their  making  use  of  their  guns:  wiiilst  the  gi'eaa- 
diers  rushed  in  with  their  broadswords  and  tomahawks, 
fascines  and  scaling  ladders,  under  cover  of  three  hundred 
of  the  light  infantry,  wiio  were  to  fire  into  the  embrasures. 

The  grenadiers  received  their  orders  with  a  cheerfulness 

(1)  Israel  Putnam,  then  a  Lieut.  Colonel,  was  in  the  expe- 
dition, and  an  account  of  his  exploits  is  given  by  his  biog- 
rapher, David  Humphrey,  which  is  altogether  too  ridicu- 
lous and  improbable  for  serious  notice.  According  to  this 
authority,  ( ? )  he  had  undertaken  with  1000  men,  in  fifty 
batteaux,  to  board  the  French  vessel,  and  putting  himself 
in  the  van,  he  approached  with  beetle  and  wedges,  crept 
under  the  stern  of  the  vessel,  and  secured  the  rud- 
der so  that  it  could  not  be  used.  "The  people  on  board  the 
sliip,  beholding  the  good  countenance  \/ith  which  they 
approached,  ran  one  of  the  vessels  on  shore  and  struck  the 
colors  of  tlie  other!" 


CAPTURE  OF  FORT  LEVIS. 


4^ 


noon  the 

■'se  very 
'evi  could 
■tainjy  of 
le  army 
with  the 
|6  taking- 
,e  a  suf- 
linvested 
f^^g  the 
'e  upon 
ats,  and 
're,  and 
'O,  '^om- 
ition  of 
ison  to 

his  two 
s  being 
assault 
Jted  on 
•^-  the 
e  and 
V,  and 
?rena- 
iwks, 
adred 
>ures. 

iness 


that  might  be  regarded  as  a  sure  omen  of  success:  and 
with  their  usual  alacrity,  prepared  for  tlie  attack,  waiting 
in  their  shirts  till  the  ships  could  take  their  proper  sta- 
tions. This  the  Williamson  brig,  commanded  by  Lieuten- 
ant Sinclair,  and  the  Mohawk,  by  Lieutenant  Phipps,  soon 
did;  and  both  sustained  and  returned  a  very  heavy  tire. 
But  he  ( )nondaga,in  which  was  Captain  Loring,  l)y  some  ex~ 
traordinary  blunder,  rau  aground.  'I'he  enemy  discovering 
his  distress,  plied  her  with  such  unceasing  showers  of  great 
and  small  arms,  that  Captain  Loring  thougJit  proper  to 
strike  his  colors,  and  sent  Thornton,  his  master,  on  shore, 
to  the  enemy,  who  endeavored  to  take  possession  of  the 
vessel ;  but  by  C'olonel  Williamson's  observing  it,  he  turned 
upon  them  a  battery,  which  obliged  them  to  desist  from 
the  undertaking.  The  General  then  ordered  Lieutenant 
Sinclair  from  the  Williamson  brig,  and  Lieutenant  Pen- 
nington, with  two  detachments  of  grenadiers  under  their 
command,  to  take  possession  of  the  Onondaga,  and  they 
obeyed  their  orders  with  such  undaunted  resolution,  that 
the  English  colors  were  again  hoisted  on  board  of  her. 
But  the  vessel  after  all,  could  not  be  got  off,  and  was  there- 
fore abandoned  about  midnight.  The  English  batteries,^ 
however',  put  a  stop  to  any  further  attempt  of  the  enemy 
to  board  her.  Captain  Loring  being  w'ounded,  was  in  the 
meantime  sent  ashore.  This  accident  of  the  Onondaga's 
running  aground,  obliged  the  General  to  defer  for  the 
present  his  plan  of  assault,  but  this  delay  proved  rather  a 
fortunate  event,  as  it  saved  a  great  deal  of  blood,  for  on 
the  25th,  M.  Pouchot,  the  commaudpiit,  beat  a  parley,  de- 
manding what  terms  he  might  expecc,  to  which  no  answer 
was  returned,  but  that  the  fort  must  be  immediately  given 
up,  and  the  garrison  surrendered  prisoners  of  war,  and  but 
ten  minutes  were  given  for  a  reply.  These  terms  were  re- 
ceived within  the  ten  minutes^ ;  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Massey,  with  the  grenadiers,  immediately  took  possession 
of  the  place. 

The  loss  of  the  English  before  it,  was  twenty-one  killed 
and  nineteen  wounded.  The  first  shot  from  the  English 
batterv  killed  the  French  officer  of  artillery^.  Eleven  more 
were  killed  afterwards,  and  about  forty  v/ounded.     The 

(1)  Pouchot  says  "half  an  hour." 

(3)  M.  Bertrand,  who  was  standing  by  the  side  of  Pou- 
chot, when  a  cannon  ball  passed  through  his  body. 


u 


DISASTROUS  VOYAGE. 


i 


garrison,  except  the  pilots,  for  the  sake  of  whom 
chiefly  the  place  had  been  attacked,  were  sent  to  New 
York;  and  the  General  named  the  fort  Fort  William 
Augustus. 

At  this  point,  the  horde  of  savages  desired  to  murder 
and  plunder  the  garrison,  but  being  denied  the  privilege, 
they  mostly  abandoned  the  expedition  and  returned  home, 
except  about  a  hundred  and  seventy,  who  remained  with 
the  army,  and  were  rewarded  with  medals.  The  English 
remained  till  the  30th,  employed  in  leveling  the  batteries, 
and  repairing  the  boats  and  rafts  for  the  artilleiy,  which 
was  now  embarked  with  the  necessary  stores ;  and  at  noon 
of  the  31st,  the  General  with  his  army  proceeded  on  their 
perilous  voyage  down  the  rapids.  They  were  not  well  ac- 
quainted with  these  dangers,  and  in  passing  the  Cedar 
Rapids,  29  boats  belonging  to  the  regiments,  17  whale 
boats,  17  artillery  boats,  and  one  row  galley  were  dashed  to 
pieces,  with  the  loss  of  88  men.  Night  coming  on  the  re- 
mainder of  the  army  delayed  the  passage  till  morning, 
when,  learning  from  the  sad  experience  of  the  day  before, 
the  remaining  boats  were  passed  down  singly  and  in  safety. 

Returning  to  our  French  authority ;  MM.  de  Yandreuil 
and  de  L^vis  determined  at  the  beginning  of  March,  1760, 
to  send  Pouchot  upon  the  ice,  to  take  command  upon 
Oraconenton  Isle,  and  to  recall  M.  des  Andronis,  an  engi- 
neer who  had  been  there  since  September.  With  scanty 
resources  but  large  promises,  he  sent  out  from  Montreal  on 
the  17th  of  March,  with  the  Abb^  Picquet,  five  men  and 
three  sleds.  He  found  at  the  fort  a  hundred  and  fifty 
militia,  six  Canadian  officers,   M.  Bertrand,  an  officer  of 


ACCOUNT  OF  THE  SURRENDER. 


4S 


artillery,  MM.  Celerons  brothers,  La  Boulanderie,  De 
Bleury,  and  De  Poilly,  Colonial  cadets,  and  on  the  river 
above,  two  French  corvettes,  under  La  Force  and  La  Bro- 
querie,  with  their  crews  of  180  men.  The  barracks,  maga- 
zines and  quarters  w^ere  built  block  house  fashion,  and 
covered  with  plank.  The  works  were  still  unfinished,  and 
Pouchot  set  himself  to  the  task  of  putting  the  place  in  as 
complete  defense  as  his  means  would  allow.  The  timber 
work  of  the  main  parapet  was  filled  inside  with  earth 
brought  from  off  the  island,  as  they  had  none  to  spare,  and 
they  made  other  addi'ions,  which  he  specifies  in  detail. 

During  the  summer  he  received  only  a  hundred  more 
militia,  who  came  to  bring  up  provisions,  and  of  these  at 
least  twenty  deserted  with  batteaux  belonging  to  the  fort.  * 
His  record  recites  the  incidents  that  occurred  from  day  to 
day.  He  was  early  informed  of  the  arrival  of  General 
Amherst  at  Oswego,  and  of  his  movements,  as  his  plans 
advanced.  Every  day  had  its  rumors  and  its  Indian  inter- 
views, and  among  his  dusky  visitors  were  some  '  'suspected 
of  painting  in  two  colors,"  i.e.  of  being  friendly  to  both 
sides,  but  true  to  neither. 

Scouting  parties  from  each  army  hung  around  the  en- 
campments of  the  other,  and  now  and  then  a  prisoner 
would  be  brought  in  and  questioned  as  to  what  he  knew. 
Their  statements  were,  of  course,  only  as  to  what  they  had 
seen  or  heard — and  told  of  the  strokes  of  oars  heard  day 


(1)  One  loyal  Canadian  father  came  a  few  days  after  to 
return  his  son,  who  was  one  of  these  deserters.  The  lad 
was  killed  in  the  battle. 


4S 


ACCOUNT  OF  THE  SURRENDER. 


after  day,  as  the  English  army  were  passing  Oneida  Lake — 
of  wagons  passing  continually  laden  with  provisions  and 
camp  equipage — of  heavy  cannon,  and  of  camps.  Another 
Indian  would  tell  of  war-parties  from  distant  tribes  on 
their  way  to  join  one  or  the  other  army,  and  gradually,  as 
the  heat  of  summer  came  on,  the  news  of  the  invasion 
became  more  definite,  and  the  extent  and  resources  of  its 
army  came  to  be  tolerably  well  known. 

The  Indians  unable  to  bear  arms,  fled  for  safety,  and  no 
crops  were  planted  that  year  around  La  Presentation,  as  it 
was  doubtful  whether  they  would  reap  the  harvest. 

Finally,  about  the  first  days  of  August,  some  Indians 
came  down  from  Tom'aki,  who  had  seen  the  camp  fires  of 
the  English  army  among  the  Thousand  Islands,  and  some 
had  ventured  on  board  the  great  English  vessels,  to  try  the 
experiment  as  to  whether  the  English  would  really  kill 
peaceable  Indians,  as  they  had  been  told.  It  was  not  long 
before  the  English  armj^  was  at  Point  au  Baril,  and  its  van 
guard  at  La  Presentation.  On  the  17th  of  August,  accord- 
ing to  Pouchot,  the  Outaouaise,  under  command  of  M.  La 
Force,  was  attacked  by  six  barges  each  carrying  thirty  men 
and  a  twelve  pounder,  and  after  au  engagement  of  three 
hours  he  surrendered. 

The  movements  of  the  Englisli  from  day  to  day  until 
the  surrender,  —  their  probable  plans,  and  the  way  in 
which  these  intentions  should  be  thwarted,  occupj^  many 
pages  of  his  narrative,  and  do  not  differ  materially  from 
the  account  already  given.  The  English  took  possession 
of  both  shores,  and  of  the  neighboring  islands,  and  threw 


ACCOUNT  OF  THE  SURRENDER. 


47 


up  earthworks  as  iu  a  regular  siege.  In  the  cannonade  by 
which  the  Es^glish  vessels  were  disabled,  and  in  the  most 
serious  moments  of  the  fight,  the  Indians,  who  were 
perched  on  the  earthworks  and  on  every  available  point  of 
view  along  the  shores,  took  the  liveliest  interest  in  the 
scene, — their  sympathies  being  all  on  the  side  of  the  ves- 
sels, because  they  bore  the  names  of  their  tribes,  and  had 
Indians  painted  on  their  flags.  But  when  they  saw  these 
vessels  disabled,  and  their  colors  struck,  they  made  furious 
cries,  and  became  frantic  with  rage.  They  accused  the 
English  of  cowardice,  and  boldly  declared  them  to  be 
inferior  to  the  French. 

According  to  Pouchot,  the  cannonade  on  ihe  last  day 
lasted  until  his  powder  was  nearly  all  gone,  and  when 
he  surrendered  he  had  forty  men  killed  and  wounded. 
The  fort  was  several  times  on  fire,  and  towards  the  last 
the  English  began  to  throw  red-hot  balls,  firepots  and 
carcasses,  which,  in  their  wooden  walls,  they  could  no 
longer  withstand.  "When  the  English  entered,  some  sixty 
militia  men  stood  around,  with  handkerchiefs  tied  around 
their  heads, — their  coats  off,  and  necks  bare  as  was  the 
custom  of  the  peasantry  of  the  country.  "  Where  is  your 
garrison? "  they  enquired,  and  they  could  hardly  believe 
it  when  told  them  that  these  milit'"  1  ainiosi  the  only 

force  that  the  fort  had  had.  ^ 

(1)  Knox  says  that  the  garrison  consisted  of  2  captains, 
6  subalterns,  and  391  men,  all  ranks,  and  doubtless  those  of. 
vessels  included.  Their  loss  had  been  a  Lieut,  of  artillery, 
and  12  men  killed,  and  35  wounded.  The  English  loss 
was  21  killed  and  23  wounded.  The  fort  contained  12 
twelve — 2  eighteen — 2  six — 13  four  and  4  one  pounders, 
and  4  brass  six  pounders.     {Campaigns,  ii,  408.) 


f 


P:l 


If-v 


4S       08WEGATCHIE  UNDER  THE  ENGLISH. 

General  Amherst  treated  Pouchot  with  great  civility, 
and  in  a  private  interview  of  an  hour,  tried  to  learn  from 
him  something  about  the  situation  of  the  country  below, 
but  he  found  him  anything  but  communicative  upon  the 
subjects  he  most  desired  to  know.  The  English  took 
thirty-six  pilots  as  guides  for  the  rapids,  and  sent  all  the 
rest  of  the  garrison  l)y  way  of  Oswego  to  New  York. 
Belle-Garde,  the  priest  at  La  Presentation,  volunteered  to 
stay  to  care  for  the  wounded,  and  sometime  after  went 
down  to  Montreal. 

OSWEGATCHIE  UNDER   THE  ENGLISH. 

The  English  continued  to  occupy  Oswegatchie  as  a  trad- 
ing post  until  1796,  and  during  the  Revolution,  it  was  a 
point  of  some  importance  as  a  place  for  the  storage  of  sup- 
plies, and  the  transfer  of  freight  from  boats  to  vessels. 
Although  the  St.  Lawrence  River  had  been  declared  the 
boundary  by  the  Treaty  of  1783,  the  British  held  possession 
of  the  whole  line  of  posts  on  the  northern  frontier  to 
secure  as  they  claimed,  the  rights  of  certain  British  sub- 
jects. In  the  absence  of  authority  to  prevent  it,  the 
owners  of  land  under  purchase  from  the  State  suffered 
great  ua.iiHges  fr^ti.'  "  ber  thieves,  who  operated  exten- 
sively and  without  the  least  restraint.  A  mill  on  the 
Oswegatchie  owned  by  one  Verne  Francis  Lorimier,  a  half 
pay  captain,  did  an  extensive  business  in  this  line,  but  the 
remonstrances  of  proprietors  obtained  no  relief.  The 
usual  plea  when  these  complaints  were  brought  to  the 
attention  of  officials  was,  that  they  had  no  jurisdiction  in 


W«R!W»<|k_^ 


itiffiiiiimhtiiiii"'t^'^ 


ENGLISH. 

til  great  civility, 
led  to  learn  from 
B  country  below, 
licative  upon  the 
tie  English  took 
and  sent  all  the 
to  New  York. 
I,  volunteered  to 
Jtime  after  went 


^LISH. 

atchie  as  a  trad- 
lution,  it  was  a 
;  storage  of  sup- 
oats  to  vessels, 
en  declared  the 
held  possession 
Brn  frontier  to 
in  British  sub- 
Di-event  it,   the 
State  suffered 
perated  exten- 
V.  mill  on  the 
orimier,  a  half 
s  line,  but  the 
)    relief.     The 
>rought  to  the 
jurisdiction  in 


8URBENDER  UNDER  THE  TREATY.         49 

;he  matter  and  that  relief  should  be  sought  in  some  higher 
uthority. 

According  to  the  terms  of  "Jay's  Treaty/' all  the  posts 
within  the  United  States  were  to  be  given  up  on  or  before 
June  1,  1796.  Mr.  Nathan  Ford,  agent  of  Samuel  Ogden, 
the  proprietor,  took  possession,  and  at  once  began  im* 
piovements  with  an  energy  that  could  not  fail  of  success. 
During  his  absence  the  first  winter,  the  Canadians  came 
over,  held  a  town  meeting,  elected  civil  and  military  ofli- 
cers  and  opened  a  land-office  for  selling  and  settling  his 
lands;  but  he  made  short  work  with  these  squatters  and 
their  title,  and  the  settlement  grew  rapidly  until  its  pros- 
perity was  checked  for  a  time  by  the  embargo  and  the  war. 

'   CARLETON  ISLAND  AND  ITS  FORT. 

This  Island  was  called  by  the 
French  "tie  aux  Chevreaux,''  and 
by  the  English  "Buck  Island,'' 
or  "Deer  Islatul,"  and  after  1777, 
"  Carleton  Island,''  the  latter  be* 
ing  in  honor  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton, 
(Lord  Dorchester)  first  Governor-General  of  the  Canadas. 
It  stands  near  the  middle  of  the  south  channel,  about 
three  miles  below  the  Railroad  depot  at  Cape  Vincent,  and 
contains  1,274  acr.  s.  At  the  head  of  the  Island  is  a  low 
peninsula,  with  a  harbor  on  each  side,  behind  which  it 
rises  to  a  terrace  some  sixty  feet  above  the  River.  A  num- 
ber of  stone  chimneys  upon  this  bluff,  attract  the  notice  of 
travellers,  and  around  these  there  runs  an  excavation  in 


\Fort  Carleton  and  a  Sec- 
tion of  die  Works.'l 


■fi^^0)t^.^ 


ili 


rir 


80        CARLETON  ISLAND,  AND  ITS  FORT. 

the  limestone  rock,  and  a  stone  parapet,  which  mark  the 
site  of  a  Fort  now  in  ruins. 

To  clear  up  the  obscurity  that  has  hitherto  hung  like  a 
cloud  of  oblivion  over  the  history  of  this  Island,  we  have 
recently  sought  access  to  the  Archives  of  the  Dominion 
Government,  at  Ottawa,  and  from  the  records  there  found, 
are  now  able  to  present  a  more  exact  account  than  has 
hitherto  been  published,  concerning  this  place  and  its  forti- 
fications. 

In  1872,  Mr.  Douglas  Brymner,  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  and  Statistics,  was  directed  to  make  inquiries 
concerning  the  Public  Records,  Documents  and  Official 
Papers  in  manuscript,  illustrating  the  History  and  Progress 
of  Society  in  Canada,  and  a  sum  of  money  was  voted  for 
the  purpose  of  making  preliminary  researches.  From  two 
Reports  v/hich  he  has  made,  ^  it  will  be  seen  that  he  visited 
many  repositories  of  these  Records,  and  made  known  the 
nature  and  extent  of  their  resources,  a  part  of  which  have 
been  placed  in  the  custody  of  that  Department.  A  very 
satisfactory  beginning  has  been  made  in  their  arrangement, 
and  when  fully  bound  and  indexed,  they  will  afford  a 
source  of  historical  information  of  inestimable  value  to  the 
country.  Among  these  papers,  were  about  eight  tons,  from 
the  office  of  the  Military  Secretary  at  Halifax,  extending 
from  1760  down  to  about  1873.  Besides  these  original 
papers,  which  are  in  excellent  preservation,  an  extensive 
series  of  papers  is  in  course  of  copying   from  English 

(1)  Reports  of  the  Minister  of  Agriculture,  1873;  pp.  171- 
174;  and  1873,  pp.  151-171. 


'^t^BSSi^SUimi 


IMPORTANCE  OF  CARLETON  ISLAND.       51 

Archives,  and  of  these  233  volumes  known  as  the  "Haldi- 
mand  Papers"  have  been  secured.  It  is  understood  that 
the  Dominion  Government  will  continue  this  attention  to 
the  preservation  of  its  history,  and  in  the  meantime,  it  is 
gratifying  to  know,  that  the  papers  actually  secured  are  in 
a  depository  absolutely  safe  from  casualty,  and  under  the 
most  intelligent  care. 

From  these  papers,  from  the  "  8imcoe  Papera,^^  in  the 
Library  of  Parliament,  and  from  other  sources,  we  are  able 
to  give  the  following  history.  The  Island  was  wholly  un- 
occupied by  the  French,  excepting  as  a  transient  stopping- 
place.  Its  fine  harbors  at  its  head,  were  mentioned  by 
Charlevoix  in  1721,  and  in  1757  a  guard  of  twelve  men 
was  stationed  there,  to  give  notice  of  any  approach  by  the 
English.  1 

None  of  the  historians  on  either  side  mention  it  in  1760, 
as  they  certainly  would  have  done,  had  it  been  of  the 
slightest  importance,  and  it  was  not  until  it  became  proba- 
ble that  the  St.  Lawrence  might  become  a  Frontier,  that 
we  find  a  motive  for  a  military  work  at  this  place. 

The  earliest  date  referring  to  this  Island  that  we  have 
found,  in  that  period  is  in  July,  1777,  when  Buck  Island 
is  mentioned  as  a  place  beginning  to  be  occupied  for  mili- 
tary purposes,  but  still  without  fortifications,  and  only  a 
point  of  rendezvous  and  supply  for  various  military  expe- 
ditions. * 

On  the  14th  of  August,  1777,  Gen.  Carleton  speaks  of 

(1)  Hough's  Translation  of  PoucTwVs  Memoirs,    i,  229. 

(2)  Colonial  History  of  New  York,  viii,  719. 


I 


\  I 


1^ 


'f 


8C      IMPORTANCE  OF  CAULETON  ISLAND. 

goods  being  sent  to  Deer  Island  for  shipment  to  Niagara, 
and  on  tiie  5th  of  September,  refers  to  the  retreat  of  St. 
Legcr  from  Fort  Stanwix,  and  the  importance  of  a  sutfl- 
cient  guard  for  provisions  and  stores. 

Early  in  the  Spring  of  1779,  Licuts.  McClellan  and  Har- 
denb  .  of  tlie  5th  N.  Y.  Ilogiment,  were  sent  by  way 
of  tlie  i31ack  River  to  surprise  the  Britisli  post  at  Oswe* 
gatchie,  and  partly  to  draw  off  the  Oneida  warriors,  lest 
they  should  be  disturbed  by  the  expedition  against  the  In- 
dians of  Western  New  York,  made  by  General  Sullivan  in 
that  year.  They  failed  to  surprise  the  garrison,  but  from 
two  Onondaga  Indians  whom  they  took  prisoners,  they 
learned  the  following  facts,  as  given  in  their  own  words : 

•'That the  last  week  we  had  left  that  place  [Buck  Island] 
and  that  they  were  fortifying  themselves.  He  further 
saith  '  -^t  "the  garrison  consisted  of  Sir  John  Johnson's 
Regi  ^-,  making  in  the  whole  not  more  than  200  men, 
and  hey  had  a  disorder  among  them,  of  which  they 

died  very  fast,  and  that  no  other  reason  made  him  and 
some  others  leave  that  place."  He  further  says,  "that 
yesterday  Gen.  Haldimand's  aid-de-camp  passed  that  place 
with  orders  to  the  commanding  officers  of  the  back  posts.  "^ 

An  order-book  of  that  period,  *  under  date  of  May  14, 

kept  at  Fort  Haldimand,  on  Carleton  Island,  speaks  of  a 

fort,  alarm  posts,  the  duties  of  engineers  and  artisans,  and 

the  usual  routine  of  garrison  life.     There  was  then  a  picket 

guard  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Island,  and  a  sharp  lookout 

was  kept  for  the  "Rebels  "  understood  to  be  lurking  in  the 

vicinity.     On  the  4th  of  June  of  that  year,  the  King's 

(1)  Clinton  Papers.     No.  2,285.     State  Library,  Albany. 

(2)  Owned  by  Judge  J.  F.  Pringle,  of  Cornwall,  On- 
tario, who  has  kindly  furnished  us  notes  from  this  record, 
which  belonged  to  an  ancestor. 


i 


CAllLKTON  ISLAND— RKLWS  FOUND.        fiS 

hiitluluy  was  celubruted  by  the  Uoyal  lligliluiul  Emignints 
unci  K(iyal  Yorkers,  and  at  noon,  seven  great  guns  were 
fired  on  tlie  Fort,  answered  by  tlic  sliips  in  the  harbor — 
seven  each — and  in  the  whole  a  salute  of  twenty  one  guns. 

Other  orders  forbid  any  one  from  wandering  from  the 
post,  and  the  giving  of  liquors,  under  penalty  of  corporal 
punishment,  or  expulsion  from  the  Island.  / 

From  hundreds  of  papers  containing  accounts,  receipts, 
orders,  reports  and  other  business  transactions,  which  we 
have  examined,  it  appears  that  during  the  war,  and  for 
some  years  afterward,  Carleton  Island  was  the  principal 
naval  station  on  the  Lake,  and  that  there  was  generally  a 
small  military  force,  and  a  considerable  number  of  artifi- 
cers at  that  post.  In  January,  1771,  a  Mr.  Ilogel  was  sent 
up  to  take  the  oath  of  each  of  the  Tory  refugees  there, 
declaring  with  whom  they  first  enlisted,  and  under  whom 
they  had  engaged  to  serve.  On  the  23d  of  April  of  that 
year,  an  armorer  was  ordered  to  that  place,  and  all  the 
arms  from  the  upper  posts  needing  repairs  were  to  be  sent 
down  and  stored  until  he  arrived.   . 

We  might  give  an  abundance  af  citations  from  these 
papers,  showing  the  names  and  numbers  of  those  employed 
on  the  Island,  in  the  marine  and  civil  service,  from  the  ac- 
counts of  that  day.  Judging  from  the  names,  they  were 
^liiefly  Scotch,  except  those  engaged  in  the  bateau  service, 
all  of  whom  were  French.  In  the  season  of  1787,  ac- 
counts were  allowed  for  234  bateaux-loads  from  Lachine 
to  Carleton  Island,  arriving  in  thirty  four  companies  of 
twelve,  or  less  each,  and  for  which  $6,748  were  paid.  The 


I  I 


1.1 

i! 


ii 


t 


64 


TITLE  OF  CARLETON  ISLAND. 


price  of  a  b  iteau-load  was  usually  about  $30,  and  during 
this  period  there  were  scarcely  any  arrivals  at  Kingston, 
except  from  this  Island.  The  accounts  were  almost  always 
kept  both  in  Sterling  money  and  in  Halifax  Currency;  the 
former  rated  at  4«.  M. ,  and  the  latter  at  ^h.  to  the  dollar. 
The  Ship  Limnaide,  the  Scow  Seneca,  and  Sloops  Caldwell, 
Mohaick,  etc. ,  are  mentioned  as  objects  of  expense. 

The  Senior  Naval  Officer  on  the  Lake  at  that  time,  was 
Bavid  Betu.n  ;  the  Assistant  Commissary-Greneral,  Neil  Mc- 
Lean ;  the  Assistant  Barrack  Master,  Tliomas  Sparham ; 
the  Store-keeper,  James  Clark,  with  James  Chines,  and 
Wm.  McDonnell  as  assistants,  and  Master  Builder,  Richard 
Wingate.  It  would  be  easy  indeed,  to  fish  from  the  Sea  of 
Oblivion  scores  of  names,  of  high  and  low  degree,  down  to 
the  humblest  laborer,  and  the  chimney-sweep;  in  fact  the 
accounts  of  the  personage  last  named,  afford  a  knowledge 
of  the  number  of  Officers,  of  Men,  of  Rooms,  and  of  Chim- 
neys, at  every  pay-day,  with  as  much  precision  as  a  mus- 
ter-roll would  give  the  force  present  for  duty,  and  the 
Chimneys  still  standing  are  silent  witnesses  of  the  accura- 
cy of  these  accounts.  ; 

On  a  subsequent  page,  we  shall  present  a  further  accour*^^ 
of  the  final  evacuation  of  the  Island  as  a  place  of  military 
defense. 

A  military  class-right  for  500  acres,  was  located  at  the 
head  of  the  Island  Oct.  2d,  1786,  by  Willi;  m  Richardson, 
and  in  the  grant  made  to  Macomb  in  1791,  the  Island  was 
reserved  by  the  State,  probably  in  anticipation  of  some 


LAND  TITLES. 


5S 


public  use,  as  was  also  a  small  tract  at  Tibbet's  Point,  near 
Cape  Vincent.  In  the  uncertainties  that  attended  the  early- 
period  of  the  late  war,  the  availability  of  the  works  on 
Carleton  Island  for  defense  was  made  a  subject  of  official 
notice  by  military  engineers,  in  case  of  possible  need. 

TITLE    TO    THE    ISLANDS    LYLNG    V'lTHIN    THE    STATE    OF 

NEW    YORK. 

In  the  original  contract  between  the  State  and  Alexan- 
der Macomb,  in  1791,  the  islands  above  Morristown  were 
included,  but  owing  to  the  uncertainty  of  boundaries  they 
were  not  patented  until  long  afterwards.  On  the  16th  of 
February,  1833,  all  the  islands  within  the  State  between 
Morristown  and  the  west  end  of  Grindstone  island,  were 
granted  to  Elisha  Camp,  of  Sackets  Harbor,  being  sup- 
posed to  contain  in  all,  15,402.9  acres  of  land.     All  titles 

must  therefore  be  traced  to  this  proprietor,  within  these 
limits. 

At  an  earlier  period,  these  islands  had  been  claimed  by 
the  St.  Regis  Indians,  and  were  leased  by  their  agents  to 
British  subjects,  for  a  long  term  of  years.  Under  this 
title  some  of  them  were  occupied  by  settlers,  acknowledg- 
ing British  authority,  at  the  time  when  the  boundary  was 
settled  in  1818.  When  the  title  in  1823  passed  to  a 
private  owner,  difficulties  arose  which  threatened  to  result 
in  serious  trouble,  and  which  became  known  ia  the  local 
annals  as — 

"The  War  of  Oriiidstone  Island." 

A  quantity  of  pine  timber  had  been  cut  and  prepared 
for  rafting,  which  was  claimed  by  the  patentee,  as  also  by 


^6 


PETER  PENET  AND  HIS  IMPOSTURES. 


H 


^■: 


W 


w 


th'se  having  custody.  Finding  it  probable  that  an  at- 
tempt to  serve  legal  process  would  be  resisted,  the  Sheriff 
procured  a  detachment  of  Militia  from  the  town  of  Lyme, 
under  Capt.  Seymour  Green.  The  timber  had  mostly  been 
passed  over  into  British  waters,  and  after  some  firing,  the 
party  in  charge  of  the  timber  dispersed.  One  of  the 
Militia  men  was  accidentally  killed  by  his  own  gun.  The 
question  was  brought  into  the  courts,  and  finally  settled  by 
arbitration. 

PETER  TENET. 

Whoever  looks  on  the  map  of  Northern  New  York,  will  see 
a  tract  of  land,  square  in  form,  with  the  sides  running  coin- 
cident with  the  principal  cardinal  points,  and  its  northwest 
corner  resting  upon  the  St.  Lawrence  at  the  mouth  of 
"Fi-ench  Creek."  This  is  'Tenet's  Square,"  and  hath  its 
little  romance  of  history,  every  word  of  which  is  true. 

The  Revolution  attracted  to  America  many  French  ad- 
venturers, some  of  w^honi  had  much  more  to  gain  than  to 
lose,  and  among  these  was  one  Peter  Penet,  of  Nantes, 
France.  IK  .rrived  at  Providence,  H.  L,  by  way  of  Cape 
Francois,  (W.  I.,)  in  December,  1775,  having  letters  and 
credentials  which  at  first  secured  him  some  attentions;  and 
he  obtained  from  a  committee  of  Congress,  a  contract  in 
the  name  of  DePlairne,  Penet  &  Co.,  for  supplying  a  large 
amount  of  arms  from  France.  He  also  made  separate 
propositions  to  several  of  the  Colonies  for  powder,  arms, 
and  ordnance,  in  the  execution  of  which  he  proposed  to 
ship  a  large  amount  of  tobacco  and  other  produce  directly 
to  France.  He  had  various  other  speculations,  all  of  which 


lr 


THE  DREAM,  AND  ITS  FULFILMENT.        67 

proved  visionary,  and  it  soon  appeared  that  he  w^as  only  a 
needy  adventurer,  without  capital  or  character.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  procuring  advances,  w^hich  were  not  accounted 
for,  and  he  may  be  justly  called  "The  Confidence  Man" 
of  the  Revolution.  After  the  war  he  became  an  Indian 
trader,  and  acquired  a  great  ascendency  among  the 
Oneidas.  When  these  people  were  holding  a  treaty  with 
the  State  in  1788,  for  the  cession  of  their  lands,  it  was 
found  expedient  to  consult  with  him,  and  to  ask  his  aid  in 
promoting  these  measures;  and  as  they  were  stipulating 
the  reservations  to  be  made  for  themselves  and  friends,  he 
"dreamed"  that  they  would  give  him  a  tract  of  land  that  he 
should  locate  somewhere  north  of  Oneida  Lake.  His 
dream  was  fulfiled  in  the  gift  of  ten  miles  square,  which 
bears  his  name,  but  before  the  grant  was  perfected,  he  fled 
from  the  country,  and  the  title  passed  to  a  creditor. 

While  operating  upon  the  credulity  of  these  simple  peo- 
ple, he  devised  a  "Plan  of  Oovernment  for  the  Oneidas" 
that  was  to  lead  them  to  that  perfection  to  which  few  civil- 
ized communities  attain.  The  national  affairs  were  to  be 
managed  by  a  Grand  Council ;  all  differences  were  to  be 
settled  by  persons  eminently  wise  and  just;  a  tract  of  land 
was  to  be  rented,  and  the  revenues  were  to  pay  all  public 
charges,  of  whatever  amount;  no  lands  were  ever  to  be 
alienated,  and  no  cause  of  complaint  was  ever  to  arise. 
It  was  resolved,  as  the  highest  incentive  to  virtue,  "that  as 
soon  as  convenient  material  can  be  procured,  eighteen 
proper  marks  of  distinction  shall  be  given;  three  represent- 
ing the  tribe  of  the  Bear;  three  the  tribe  of  the  Wolf;  and 


I! 


I  I 


l^ 


68 


SCHEME  OF  HAPPINE81 


three  the  tribe  of  the  Tortoise.  The  marks  of  the  chiefs 
of  war  are,  a  green  ribbon,  striped  on  the  side  with  red,  to 
be  worn  on  the  left  side.  Nine  marks  of  distinction  for 
the  chiefs  of  the  councillors,  with  the  mark  of  an  Eagle  on 
a  red  ribbon,  to  go  round  the  neck,  and  hang  between  the 
breasts.  Be  it  remembered  that  those  chiefs,  whether  war- 
riors or  councillors,  who  wear  this  badge,  must  be  men  of 
truth,  honor  and  wisdom,  to  discharge  the  great  trust  of 
national  business  now  put  in  their  hands;  and  whether  at 
home,  or  abroad,  when  these  marks  are  seen,  it  will  be 
remembered  that  they  are  this  Great  Council,  and  great 
respect  will,  at  all  times,  be  shown  them." 

This  scheme  of  government,  comprising  twenty  articles, 
contemplated  the  appointment  of  Peter  Penet,  their  "true 
and  trusted  friend,  adopted  and  chosen  Agent  forever,"  as 
their  principal  executive  agent,  and  being  duly  signed  by 
marks  (not  one  being  able  to  read,)  this  State  Paper  was 
published  with  great  formality  in  the  Albany  newspapers. 
It  is  needless  to  add,  that  it  had  not  so  much  as  a  begin- 
ning of  actual  realization  1. 

Some  time  after  Penet  had  absconded,  he  made  his  ap- 
pearance in  San  Domingo;  and  at  the  time  of  the  negro 
insurrection  there,  he  invited  his  countrymen  to  buy  lands 
on  his  estates  in  Northern  New  York.  He  exhibited  a  map 
with  fortified  cities,  on  the  north  shore  of  Oneida  Lake, 
and  by  false  representations,    induced  some  to  purchase 

(1)  Notices  of  Peter  Penet  and  oj  his  Operations  among  the 
Oneida  Indians,  By  Franklin  B.  Hough,  Lowville,  N.  Y., 
1836,  p.  36,  with  map.       - 


m 


THE  CASTORLAND  COLONY. 


59 


lands.  One  of  these  unfortunates,  upon  arriving  in  New 
York,  and  learning  how  cruelly  he  had  been  deceived,  was 
unable  to  bear  up  under  the  affliction,  and  died  by  his  own 
hand*.  It  is  from  Penet  that  this  place  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence derived  the  name  of  "French  Creek." 

The  successors  to  his  title  selected  the  mile-square  near- 
est the  river,  as  the  site  for  a  town,  and  caused  it  to  be  sur- 
veyed into  ten-acre  squares,  except  the  quarter  of  a  mile 
directly  upon  the  river,  in  which  each  of  these  lots  were 
further  sub-divided  into  four.  It  was  afterwards  laid  out 
as  the  village  of  "Cornelia,''  (named  from  Madame  Juhel), 
but  since  the  organization  of  the  town  of  Clayton,  in  1833, 
it  has  borne  this  name  2. 

In  early  times  "French  Creek"  was  a  noted  point  for 
smuggling;  and  especially  in  the  embargo  of  1807-8,  when 
almost  all  of  the  region  north  of  Black  River  was  a  forest, 
it  became  a  principal  point  for  importing  goods,  and  for 
sending  potash  out  of  the  country.  It  was  found  impossi- 
ble to  guard  this  frontier  so  as  to  prevent  crossing  with 
teams  on  the  ice  in  winter,  or  by  boats  in  summer,  and  the 
most  that  the  authorities  attempted, was  to  guard  the  roads 
in  the  interior,  and  intercept  such  contraband  goods  as  they 
could  discover. 

THE  CASTORLAND  COLONY. 

The  first  road  from  the  Mohawk  settlements  to  the  St. 
Lawrence  at  French  Creek,  ran  in  a  nearly  direct  line  to 


•  ( 


'\ 


(1)  Castorland  Journal,  MSS. 

(2)  The  town  was  named  from  John  M.  Clayton,  a  Sen- 
ator in  Congress,  from  the  State  of  Delaware. 


i  n 


t .' 


, 


60  CASTLES  IN  THE  AIR. 

the  High  Falls  on  the  Black  River,  and  was  surveyed  and 
opened  by  a  colony  established  there,  that  deserves  a  pas- 
sing notice. 

In  the  summer  of  1792,  a  company  w^as  formed  in  Paris, 
in  the  midst  of  the  wildest  excesses  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, with  the  design  of  founding  a  colony  on  a  tract  of 
land  upon  the  east  and  north  sides  of  the  Black  River,  in 
Lewis  and  Jefferson  Counties,  which  they  had  bought  from 
William  Constable,  a  partner  in  the  great  Macomb  Pur- 
chase. A  stock-company  having  6,000  shares  was  formed, 
at  800  livres  Tournois^  per  share.  The  tract  was  bought 
for  630,000  acres,  but  on  survey  was  found  to  contain  but 
a  third  of  this  amount.  Two  Cities  were  to  be  laid  out : — 
"Basle,"  at  the  head  of  boat  navigation  near  the  present 
village  of  Dexter, — and  ''Castorville,''  at  the  lower  fall  on 
Beaver  River,  now  the  hamlet  of  "Beaverton,"  in  Lewis 
County.  The  tract  was  to  be  surveyed  into  12,000  farms 
of  50  acres  each,  and  each  City  into  a  like  number  of  lots. 
The  lucky  owners  of  shares,  were  each  to  have  immediate 
possession  of  a  farm,  and  a  lot  in  each  City,  while  the 
alternate  farms  and  lots  were  to  remain  undivided  for  a 
period  of  twenty-one  years.  The  whole  having  then  been 
vastly  enhanced  by  their  common  industries,  was  to  be 
then  finally  divided,  and  they  would  all  be  rich  and  happy. 

Their  affairs  were  to  be  managed  by  a  Director,  (Pierre 
Chassanis,  the  inventor  of  the  scheme),  and  a  Board  of 
Trustees  in  Paris,  who  were  to  hold  monthly  meetings,  and 


(1)  About  $152.40. 


Ti 


CA8T0RLAND   COLONY  SCHEMES. 


61 


order  all  things  for  the  common  good.  They  drew  up  a 
Constitution  and  a  Code  of  Regulations,  and  published 
glowing  descriptions  of  the  country  and  its  resources,  from 
which  it  was  plain  to  see  how  these  things  could  be  done, 
and  how  failure  was  impossible. 

They  chose  the  Beaver  as  the 
emblem  of  their  Seal,  and  assumed 
the  name  of  "La  Comparinie  de 
Neic  York,"  but  were  generally 
known  as  the  Castorland,  or  the 
Chassanis  Company.  .^ 

They  elected  Simon  Desjandins 
(who  had  held  office  under  Louis 
XVI,)  and  Pierre  Pliaroux  (an 
eminent  architect,)  to  make  the 
first  explorations,  and  survey  the 
[Seal  of  the  Castorland  tract  for  settlement.  They  were 
tolony.\  to  keep  the  company  in  Paris  mi- 

nutely informed  of  every  event,  but  had  very  limited  pow- 
er, and  narrow  means,  depending. in  part  upon  a  commer- 
cial adventure.  1  They  came  over  in  1793,  on  the  same 
vessel  with  Mark  I.  Brunei,  then  a  young  naval  officer, 
obliged  to  leave  France  by  the  events  of  the  Revolution,  and 
the  latter  joined  them  as  a  volunteer  on  their  first  explo- 
rations. We  cannot  here  follow  the  fortunes,  or  rather  the 
misfortunes  of  this  romantic  speculation,  which  after  con- 
siderable expenditure  and  much  suffering,  ended  in  a  total 

(1)  An  extended  account  of  this  Colony  is  given  in  our 
History  of  Jefferson  Co.,  1754,  and  History  of  Lewis  Co., 
1860.  Since  tliese  were  published,  a  full  copy  of  the  Jour- 
nal of  these  agents  has  been  obtained  from  Paris,  which 
has  been  translated  and  annoted,  but  not  published. 


I 


I  A 


v\ 


-ma^^ 


1  H 

ll 

11 

1 
1 

3 


M 


62 


THE  ILLUSIONS  VANISH. 


failure.  Pharoux  was  drowned,  Desjardins  was  super- 
seded by  one  Rodolph  Tillier,  who  was  still  more  incom- 
petent, and  the  management  of  the  estate  Anally  fell  into 
the  hands  of  James  D,  LeRay  de  Chaumont,  one  of  the 
first  stock  holders,  under  whom  permanent  sett'ements 
began  on  an  extensive  scale.  *  Mr.  Brunei  of  the  first 
year,  engaged  in  a  survey  of  a  canal  from  Lake  Champlain 
to  the  Hudson,  and  in  1799  went  to  England,  where  he 
attained  distinguished  eminence  as  an  inventor  and  a  civil 
engineer. 

We  learn  from  a  printed  programme  that  Desjardins 
afterwards  devised  a  scheme  for  a  great  industrial  estab- 
lishment on  Point  Peninsula ;  but  this  City  shared  the  same 
fate  with  Basle  and  Castormlle.  It  is  not  a  little  amusing 
that  "Castorville,"  a  city  which  never  existed  except  upon 
paper,  is  given  upon  one  of  the  latest  maps  published  by  the 
United  States  Government. 

THE  ST.    LAWRENCE   FRONTIER  IN  THE  WAR  OF   1812 — 15. 

The  Condition  of  Settlements  in  1812. 

When  this  war  began,  with  the  exception  of  small  settle- 
ments a  little  below  Cape  Vincent,  and  here  and  there  an 
inhabitant,  almost  the  whole  of  the  northern  part  of  Jeffer- 

(1)  The  map  of  Jefferson  Co.,  in  "Chaumont  Bay,"  and 
the  town  of  "LeRoy,"  perpetuates  the  name  of  this  propri- 
etor, while  "Cape  Vincent"  is  named  from  one  son,  "Alex- 
andria" from  another,  and  "Theresa"  from  a  daughter.  He 
died  in  Paris,  Dec.  31,  1841,  in  tjje  80th  year  of  his  age. 
The  Castorland  agents  received  a  trust-deed  of  the  Penet 
tract,  and  laid  plans  for  great  achievements,  which,  like 
every  thing  else  they  attempted,  came  to^). 


MMWIMMaBMM 


wi  ..'I'f  IwiiWi^'i^M'*' 


WAR  OF  1812.— ALARMS.  6S 

son  County  for  miles  back  from  the  river,  was  an  unbroken 
wilderness.  In  the  vicinity  of  Morristown,  and  from 
thence  down  to  St.  Regis,  scattered  settlements  had  been 
commenced  some  ten  or  twelve  years  before,  and  a  consid- 
erable population  had  found  homes.  The  Canada  shore 
for  the  whole  distance  had  been  more  or  less  settled  since 
the  year  1783,  by  loyalists  from  the  United  States.  The 
privations  that  these  people  had  suffered  made  neighbors 
welcome,  and  as  a  general  rule  they  looked  upon  the  set- 
tlements on  the  Southern  shore  with  marked  favor.  We 
have  heard  many  of  the  pioneers,  who  were  still  living  in 
1852  and  1853,  relate  the  kind  ofiices  rendered  to  them  from 
over  the  river,  when  a  helping  hand  was  most  needed,  and 
the  friendly  visits  made  back  and  forth,  at  a  time  when 
neighbors  were  worth  having 

Alarms. 

The  declaration  of  war  filled  the  country  with  alarm, 
and  so  terror-stricken  were  some,  that  they  hastily  fled  into 
ttie  back  settlements,  spreading  consternation  on  their  way, 
and  leaving  their  houses  open  to  any  who  might  chose  to 
enter.  After  a  time,  confidence  began  to  return,  until  at 
length  some  settler  ventured  to  cross  the  river  by  night,  to 
call  upon  an  old  acquaintance.  These  visits  gradually 
became  more  common,  and  by  the  time  the  war  ended,  old 
acquaintances  had  already  been  renewed ;  the  river  was 
crossed  by  day-light,  and  as  often  as  there  was  occasion, — 
and  in  short,  they  found  that  although  legally  enemies^ 
they  were  still /mrkfo.  ^^ ., 


m 


'  II 


«# 


CAPTUUE  OF  CARLETON  ISLAND. 


Carletori  Island. 

Carleton  Island  reniuined  in  nominal  possession  of  the 
British,  until  the  declaration  of  war  in  June,  1812.  The 
news  had  scarcely  reached  the  frontier,  when  hostilities 
were  begun  in  a  small  way  by  Captain  Abner  Hubteard,  a 
Revolutionary  soldier,  who,  without  authority,  and  with  no 
aid  but  that  of  a  man  and  a  boy,  made  a  descent  upon  the 
fort,  and  captured  it  without  firing  a  shot.  The  garrison 
consisted  of  three  invalid  men  and  two  women,  who  were 
taken  prisoners.  The  next  day  a  boat  was  sent  to  the  fort 
for  stores,  and  the  buildings  were  afterwards  burned. 

"When  news  of  these  proceedings  were  received  at  Kings- 
ton, an  attempt  was  made  by  way  of  retaliation  to  capture 
a  citizen  of  Brownville,  who  happened  to  be  in  town  on 
business,  but  he  was  forewarned  by  a  friend,  and  escaped. 

Vessels  on  the  St.  Laicrence. — Affair  of  the  Julia. 

Several  trading  vessels  were  caught  at  Ogdensburgh 
when  the  war  began,  and  in  attempting  to  escape  to  the 
Lake,  two  of  them,  the  Sophia  and  Island  Packet,  were  pur- 
sued by  Provincial  militia,  overtaken  and  burned,  near  the 
foot  of  the  Thousand  Islands.  The  remainder  returned  to 
Ogdensburgh,  filling  the  country  with  great  alarm.  It  was 
apprehended  that  the  British  would  fortify  the  islands,  and 
thus  command  the  river.  To  prevent  the  remaining  ves- 
sels from  passing  up  to  the  Lake,  the  British  vessels  Duke 
of  Olmiceste^'  and  Earl  of  Moira,  of  14  and  10  guns  respec- 
tively, were  sent  down  to  Prescott.  This  did  not  prevent 
an  attempt  to  relieve  the  blockade,  and  the  Julia,  with  a 


AFFAIR  OF  THE  JULIA. 


66 


loDg  32  pounder,  two  long  6's,  and  about  sixty  volunteers, 
under  Lieut.  Wells,  was  Utted  out  at  Sackets  Harbor. 
They  met  the  "Duke"  and  "Earl"  about  twelve  miles  above 
Ogdensburgh,  close  under  the  Canada  sliore,  and  a  cannon- 
ade began  which  continued  about  three  hours.  Night 
coming  on,  the  'Julia"  proceeded  on  to  Ogdensburg, 
having  suffered  but  little,  and  with  neither  killed  or 
wounded.  This  vessel  lay  moored  in  the  stream  before 
Ogdensburgh,  in  charge  of  Sailing  Master  Vaughan,  until 
September  5,  when,  availing  themselves  of  an  armistice, 
all  CuKi  vessels  passed  up  to  the  Lake.  Several  of  these 
were  afterwards  employed  as  armed  vessels  on  the  Lake, 
their  names  being  changed,  and  svich  alterations  made  as 
this  service  required.  • 

Expedition  to  Oananoqui,  as  described  by  Mr.  Lossing. 

While  Chauncey  was  commencing  vigorous  measures 
for  the  construction  of  a  Navy  at  the  east  end  of  Lake 
Ontario,  the  lard  forces  there  and  od  lue  St.  Lawrence 
were  not  idle,  although  no  important  service  was  performed 
there  during  the  remainder  of  1812.  The  vigilant  Captain 
Forsyth,  made  a  bold  dash  into  Canada  late  in  September. 
Having  been  informed  that  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition 
and  other  munitions  of  war  were  in  the  British  store- 
house at  Gananoqui,  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Thousand  Islands,  in  Canada,  and  not  heavily  guarded, 
Forsyth  asked  and  obtained  permission  of  General  Brown 
to  make  an  attempt  to  capture  them.  He  organized  an 
expedition  consisting  of  seventy  Riflemc  n  and  thirty-four 
Militia,  the  latter  officered  by  Capt.  Samuel  McNitt,  Lieut. 
Brown,  and  Ensigns  Hawkins  and  Johnson.  They  set  out 
from  Sackets  Harbor  on  the  18th  of  September,  and  on  the 
night  of  the  20th,  they  left  Cape  Vincent  in  boats,  thread- 
ing their  way  in  the  dark  among  the  upper  group  of  the 
Thousand  Islands.  They  landed  a  short  distance  from  the 
village  of  Gananoqui,  only  ninety-five  strong,  without  op- 
position; but  as    they  approached   the  town,  they   were 


i: 


if> 


/. 


I 


i  1 


66 


EXPEDITION  TO  OANONOQUI. 


confronted  by  a  party  of  nwVj  British  regulars  and  fifty 
Canadian  mi  itia.  drawn  up  in  battle  order,  who  poured 
heavy  volleys  rpon  them.  Forsyth  dashed  forward  with 
his  men  without  firing  a  aliot  until  within  a  hundred  yards 
of  the  enemy,  when  the  latter  tied  pell-mell  to  the  town, 
closely  pursued  by  the  invaders.  There  the  fugitives  ral- 
lied and  reneweo  the  engagement,  when  they  were  again 
compelled  to  flee,  leaving  ten  of  their  number  dead  upon 
the  field,  several  wounded,  and  eight  regulars  and  four 
militiamen  rs  prisoners.  Forsyth  lost  only  one  man  killed, 
and  one  slightly  wounded.  For  his  own  safety,  he  broke 
up  the  bridge  over  which  he  had  pursued  the  enemy,  and 
then  returned  to  his  boats,  bearing  away,  as  the  spoils  of 
his  victor}',  the  eight  regulars,  sixty  stand  of  arms,  two 
barrels  of  fixed  ammunition,  comprising  three  thousand 
ball  cartridges,  one  barrel  of  gun  powder,  one  of  flints, 
forty-one  muskets,  and  some  other  public  property.  In 
the  store-house  were  found  one  hundred  and  fifty  barrels 
of  provisions;  but  having  no  means  of  carrying  them 
away.  Captain  Forsyth  applied  the  torch,  and  the  store- 
house and  provisions  were  consumed.  The  public  property 
secured  on  this  occasion,  was  given  to  the  soldiers  of  the 
expedition,  as  a  reward  for  their  valor.  ^ 

Engagement  in  Kingston  Harbor. 
Commodore  Isaac  Chauncey  appeared  on  the  lake  on  the 
8th  of  November  1812,  with  a  fleet  consisting  of  the  Onei- 
da, {16),  Conquest,  Hamilton,  Oov.  Tompkins,  Pert,  Julia 
and  Growler.  The  British  force  on  the  lake  was  then 
reputed  to  consist  of  the  Royal  George,  Earl  of  Moira,  Prince 
Regent,  Duke  of  GLmcester,  Simcoe  and  Seneca.  On  the  10th 
he  engaged  the  Royal  George  and  the  batteries  on  shore 
for  an  hour  and  forty-five  minutes,  but  the  wind  being 
strong  inshore,  he  thought  it  imprudent  to  hazard  an  at- 

(1)  Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the  War  of  1S12,  P.  372. 

Other  accounts  state  that  the  landing  was  made  about 
two  miles  above  the  village,  and  that  twelve  prisoners  were 
taken  away. 


STORY  OF  TOM  OARNET. 


67 


tack  aud  withdrew.  This  spirited  engagemcot  has  beeu 
compared  by  Cooper  to  the  assault  upon  Tripoli  in  the  war 
with  the  Barbary  States,  to  which,  as  he  claims,  it  was 
not  inferior,  due  allowance  being  made  for  the  compar- 
.  ative  force  engaged.  ^ 

Tom  Oaniet. 

A  singularly  romantic  incident  was  related  to  the  writer 
when  preparing  his  Histocy  of  Jefferson  County  in  1853 
by  Capt.  Augustus  Ford  of  Sackets  Harbor,  as  having 
come  under  his  personal  knowledge  on  this  occasion.  Mr. 
Ford's  reputation  for  veracity,  was  above  suspicion  and  al- 
though more  than  eighty  years  of  age,  his  memory  was 
still  clear  and  strong. 

Tom  Garnet  was  the  son  of  an  English  farmer,  living 
about  forty  miles  from  Liverpool.  He  chose  a  partner  for 
life,  and  was  sent  not  long  after  marriage  with  an  ox  cart 
laden  with  wheat  to  Liverpool,  to  exchange  for  furniture 
and  an  outfit ;  but  was  seized  in  the  streets  by  a  press  gang, 
and  despite  his  entreaties  and  resistance,  was  taken  on 
board  a  frigate,  about  to  sail  for  the  East  Indies,  his  cart 
and  oxen  remaining  in  the  street,  and  himself  unable  to  re- 
lieve anxieties  at  home  by  a  single  word  of  explanation. 

During  seven  long  weary  years,  he  was  detained  abroad, 
without  an  opportunity  of  exchanging  letters  with  his  fami- 
ly, or  of  knowing  whether  those  most  dear  were  dead  or 
alive.  At  length,  he  was  paid  off  and  set  on  shore  at  Liver- 
pool. Sun-burnt  by  tropical  heat,  and  haggard  from  hard 
service,  he  was  so  changed  that  his  best  friends  would  hard- 

(1)  Naval  History  of  the  United  States,  ii.  333. 


i 


68 


STORY  OF  TOM  GARNET 


ly  have  known  him.  He  had  carefully  saved  his  earnings, 
and  having  shunned  the  vices  that  sailors  too  often  acquire, 
he  had  with  him  a  considerable  sum,  for  a  man  of  his  sta- 
tion, with  which  he  was  fondly  hoping  to  gladden  the 
hearts  of  loved  ones  at  home, — if  perchance  they  were  still 
living.  As  night  approached,  fearing  to  call  at  an  inn, 
lest  his  dress  and  appearance  should  excite  suspicion  that 
he  mil  ht  be  a  deserter  from  the  fleet,  he  crept  into  a  nook 

under  a  stack  of  straw,  and  spent  the  night.  In  the  morn- 
ing, there  was  a  dense  fog,  and  not  knowing  the  course  he 
should  take,  he  fell  in  with  another  press-gang,  and  was  a- 
gain  carried  on  board  a  vessel  about  to  sail  for  the  South 
American  Coast.  After  some  years,  finding  an  opportunity 
he  escaped,  crossed  the  Andes,  and  at  length,  reaching  an 
Atlantic  port,  he  enlisted  for  a  few  months  in  an  American 
ship,  which  soon  after  brought  him  to  the  United  States. 

His  crew  was  detailed  for  service  on  Lake  Ontario,  and 
he  arrived  at  Sackets  Harbor,  in  the  fall  of  1812;  where  he 
became  one  of  the  crew  of  the  Oneida,  under  Lieut.  Wool- 
sey.  Here  Mr.  Ford  became  acquainted  with  him,  and 
learned  the  strange  story  of  his  life.  During  twenty  years 
he  had  been  unable  to  gain  the  first  word  from  home.  He 
was  of  a  kind,  cheerful  and  obliging  disposition,  was 
strictly  temperate,  used  no  profane  language,  and  was 
made  Captain  of  the  forecastle,  from  the  entire  confidence 
that  was  placed  in  his  capacity  and  fidelity.  In  short, 
Tom  Garnet  was  the  universal  favorite  of  the  brig,  and 
both  officers  and  men  became  strongly  attached  to  him  for 
his  kindness  of  heart,  intelligence  and  moral  woth. 


GARNET.— yAVAL  PREPARATIONS.  69 

On  the  morning  before  the  fleet  of  Chauucey  sailed  to 
meet  the  enemy  near  Kingston,  Tom  related  to  his 
comrades  a  dream  he  had  the  night  before,  in  which 
his  wife  appeared  to  him  as  a  disembodied  spirit  in 
Heaven,  with  a  son,  whom  he  had  never  seen,  and  told 
him  he  would  soon  join  them.  His  story  was  treated  with 
levity ;  but  the  calm  and  serious  earnestness  with  which  he 
related  it,  and  the  evident  conviction  he  felt  as  to  the  pre- 
monition, checked  hilarity.  He  proceeded  to  divide  his 
wardrobe  among  his  companions,  and  gave  instructions 
about  the  disposal  of  the  little  property  he  possessed,  as  one 
about  to  die :  yet  his  cheerfulness  and  alacrity  were  unabat- 
ed; although  he  evidently  believed  in  the  presentiment  he 
had  expressed,  he  seemed  exhilarated  in  the  welcome  pros- 
pect of  meeting  the  long-lost  and  dear  partner  of  early 
hopes. 

The  fleet  sailed  and  engaged  the  enemy's  batteries  in  the 
Iiarbor  of  Kingston,  the  first  shot  from  w^hich  was  a  nine- 
pound  ball,  which  crossed  the  deck  of  the  Oneida,  and 
passed  throngh  the  body  of  Tom  Garnet  at  his  post.  He 
fell  instantly  dead,  with  the  «iame  smile  upon  his  counten- 
ance which  habit  had  impressed. 

Military  and  Naval  Preparations  iipon  the  Lake,  in  1813. 

The  Cabinet  plan  of  the  Campaign  of  1813  contemplated 
the  assembling  of  a  large  army  at  Sackets  Harbor,  the  cap- 
ture of  Kingston  and  York,  and  finally  a  descent  upon 
Montreal,  Large  bodies  of  troops  were  sent  forward,  and 
naval  preparations  were  begun  upon  a  most  extensive  scale. 


(■ 


II 

ill 


Ml 


1 1  ■■: 


\ 


70 


PRIVATEERINO. 


The  plan  of  attack  upon  Kingston  was  abandoned  early 
in  the  season,  but  the  descent  upon  York  was  accomplish- 
ed in  April,  with  disastrous  result — for  although  it  led  to 
a  temporary  success,  it  cost  the  life  of  General  Pike  and 
many  other  brave  officers  and  men,  while  it  afforded  no 
tenable  foothold  in  Canada.  It  led  in  a  few  days  to  a  re- 
taliatory expedition  against  Sackets  Harbor,  with  no  very 
important  results.  Half  a  million  of  dollars  worth  of  Nav- 
al Stores  were  destroyed  to  prevent  capture,  and  the  invad- 
ing forces  were  hastily  withdrawn.  The  retreat  of  militia 
along  a  road  leading  from  the  town,  but  apparently  in  the 
direction  of  the  enemy's  vessels,  hastened  their  re-embarka- 
tion, and  gave  General  Brown  a  reputation  that  continued 
till  it  carried  him  to  the  highest  grade  of  promotion,  and 
filled  the  country  with  his  fame. 

Privateering  on  the    St.   Laicrence — Affair   of   GranbeiTy 

Creek. 
"On  the  19th  of  July,  1813,  the  Nepiune  and  Fox,  the 
former  a  private  armed  boat,  under  Captain  Samuel  Dixon, 
mounted  with  one  six-pounder  and  one  swivel,  and  manned 
by  twenty-four  volunteers;  the  latter  a  public  armed  boat, 
under  Captain  Dimock,  with  a  detachment  of  twenty-one 
men  from  the  21st  Regiment  of  Infantry,  under  Lieutenants 
Burbank  and  Perry,  sailed  from  Sackets  Harbor,  with  Let- 
ters-of-Marque  from  the  Deputy  Collector  of  the  District, 
for  a  cruise  on  the  St.  Laivrence.  This  privateering  expe- 
dition was  fitted  out  by  Marinus  W.  Gilbert,  of  Water- 
town,  and  others,  and  had  for  its  object  the  cutting  off  of 
a  detachment  of  the  enemy's  boats  that  were  expected  up 


■ --t 


1^1 


"ry 


AFFAIR  OF  CRANBERBY  CREEK.  tf 

the  river,  laden  with  stores.  After  touching  at  Cape  Vin- 
cent and  French  Creek,  they  selected  on  the  morning  of 
the  17th  a  quiet  nook  in  a  creek  among  the  Thousand 
Islands,  where  they  landed  for  muster  and  review ;  and  the 
morning  being  delightfully  pleasant,  they  employed  them- 
selves in  drying  and  putting  in  complete  order  their  arms, 
and  ammunition,  and  in  cleaning  out  their  boats.  A  small 
boat  of  each  was  sent  out  for  intelligence,  but  returned 
without  gaining  any  news.  At  9  p.  m.  they  hauled  from 
the  shore,  manned  a  guard-boat  to  prevent  surprise,  and 
sent  Lieutenant  Hawkins  to  Ogdensburg  for  intelligence; 
and  at  5  p.  m.  the  next  day,  Messrs.  Baldwin  and  Campbell 
arrived  with  news.  At  9  they  left  Cranberry  Creek,  and  at 
4  A.  M.  of  the  18th,  saw  a  brigade  of  British  bateaux,  con- 
voyed by  his  Majesty's  gun-boat,  the  Spitfire,  lying  at  Sim- 
mond's  Landing,  preparing  to  sail  for  Kingston.  Upon  this 
they  pushed  in  for  shore,  and  so  completely  surprised  them 
that  very  few  of  the  enemy  escaped.  The  fifteen  bateaux 
and  the  gun-boat  were  at  once  seized,  without  a  shot  being 
fired  on  either  side.  Previous  to  the  attack,  Lieutenant 
Perry,  of  the  9th,  and  Sergeant  James,  of  Forsyth's  com- 
pany, with  twenty-seven  volunteers,  had  landed  to  cut  off 
retreat.  At  9  a.  m.  the  fleet  landed  in  Cranberry  Creek,  in 
Alexandria,  and  at  11,  sixty-nine  prisoners  were  sent  off  to 
the  Harbor,  under  a  guard  of  fifteen  men  of  the  21st,  in 
charge  of  Lieutenant  Burbank.  The  Spitfire  was  armed 
with  a  12-pound  carronade  and  a  crew  of  fourteen  men, 
with  a  large  quantity  of  military  stores.  The  bateaux  had 
270  barrels  of  pork  and  270  bags  of  pilot  bread,  which  was. 


m 


;li 


r«wiA»n3<' 


n  ■        AFFAIR  OF  CRANBERRY  CREEK. 

landed  on  the  20th  to  prevent  spoiling.  A  request  to  the 
neighboring  inhabitants  for  assistance  was  sent  out,  which 
brought  in  a  few  militia,  who,  however,  mostly  left  the 
same  night.  At  sunrise  on  the  21st,  the  enemy,  to  the  num- 
ber of  250,  with  four  gun-boats  and  one  or  two  transports, 
were  discovered  in  the  creek;  these  were  met  by  thirty 
men,  and  attacked  while  landing,  others  being  stationed  in 
different  places  to  prevent  their  approach.  A  cannonade 
was  commenced,  and  was  kept  up  for  some  time;  two  of 
the  enemy's  boats  were  so  injured  from  our  fire  that  most 
of  the  crew  were  compelled  to  leave  them,  and  cut  flags  on 
the  shore  to  stop  the  shot-holes.  At  6  a.  m.  the  enemy  re- 
tired to  their  boats,  and  3ent  a  flag  with  the  demand  of  sur- 
render to  save  the  effusion  of  blood,  which  was  instantly 
rejected,  and  the  firing  recommenced.  It  appears  that  this 
was  but  an  expedient  to  gain  time,  as  the  enemy  hastily  re- 
treated, carrying  their  dead  and  wounded.  Their  loss 
must  have  been  considerable,  from  the  quantity  of  blood 
seen  where  they  embarked.  Our  loss  was  three,  killed  and 
wounded.  After  the  action,  trees  were  felled  across  the 
road  and  creek  to  prevent  a  new  attack ;  and  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  next  day,  re-enforcements  arrived,  the  boats 
which  had  been  scuttled  were  repaired,  and  on  the  23d  they 
left  for  Sackets  Harbor,  where  they  arrived  on  the  27th. 
While  passing  Tibbet's  Point  they  encountered  the  Earl  of 
Moria,  were  pursued  and  hit  several  times  by  her  shot,  but 
not  captured.  The  gun-boat  and  several  bateaux  were 
sunk  without  consulting  Captains  Dimock  or  Dixon,  and 


I 

\ 


the 
ich 
the 
im- 

•ty 


AFFAIR  OF  CRANB?JRRY  CREEK.  73 

the  owners  ultimately  lost  most  that  was  gained  by  the 
expedition,"^ 

Canadian  Accounts  of  the  Affair  of  Cranberry   Creek. 

An  account  of  the  affair  of  Cranberry  Creek,  (some- 
times called  Goose  Bay,)  is  given  by  Christie,  a  Canadian 
author,  differing  slightly  in  dates  and  details,  but  not  much 
in  the  result.  He  states  that  three  gun-boats  under  Lieut. 
Scott,  of  the  Royal  Navy,  were  dispatched  from  Kingston, 
with  a  detachment  of  the  lOOtli  Regiment,  under  Captain 
Martin,  to  intercept  the  American  boats  on  their  return. 
Another  gun-boat  joined  them  the  next  morning,  with  a 
detachment  of  tlie  41st  Regiment  under  Major  Frend,  who 
assumed  the  command.  On  reaching  the  Creek,  they  tried 
to  enter,  but  the  channel  was  so  narrow  that  the  gun-boats 
could  neither  use  their  oars  nor  turn  to  bring  their  guns  to 
bear.  Being  attacked  from  the  shore,  and  finding  the 
channel  blocked  up  with  trees,  a  portion  of  the  troops 
effected  a  landing,  but  finding  the  Americans  strongly 
posted,  and  their  gun-boats  useless,  they  retired  from  the 
unequal  contest.  Capt.  Milnes,  aid-de-camp  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  forces,  who  had  volunteered  for  the  expedi- 
tion, was  mortally  wounded. 

Another  Canadian  Historian  says  :  ^  —  On  tlie 
20th  of  July,  1813,  some  cruisers  from  Sackets 
Harbor,   succeeded  in  surprising  and  capturing,   at  day- 

(1)  IIoiigNs  Hist,  of  Jefferson  Co.,  p.  493;  from  a  Journal 
kept  by  one  of  the  oflficers. 

(2)  Charles  Roger's  Rise  of  Canada  from  Barbarism  to 
Wealth  and  Cimlization.  Quebec,  1S56. 

5 


\'^ 


4\ 


m  !i 


i\ 


i    ! 


1'  ! 


U 


AFFAIR  OF  CRANBERRY  CREEK. 


break,  a  brigade  of  bateaux  laden  with  provisions,  under 
the  convoy  of  a  gun-boat.  They  made  off  with  the  prize 
to  Goose  Creek  ^,  which  is  not  faT  from  Gananoque.  At 
Kingston  the  loss  of  the  supplies  was  soon  ascertained,  and 
Lieut,  Scott,  of  the  Royal  Navy,  was  despatched  with  a 
detachment  of  the  100th  Regiment,  in  gunboats,  to  inter- 
cept the  plunderers.  At  the  lower  end  of  Long  Island,  he 
ascertained  the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  and  waited  patiently 
for  the  morning.  In  the  evening,  still  later,  a  fourth  gun- 
boat with  a  d^  tachment  of  the  41st  Regiment  came  up,  and 
having  passed  the  night  in  bright  anticipation  of  glory,  the 
rescuing  gun-boats  proceeded  at  three  in  the  morning  to 
Goose  Creek.  The  enemy  had  gone  well  up  and  had  judi- 
ciously entrenched  themselves  behind  legs,  while  they  had 
adopted  the  Russian  plan  of  blocking  up  the  entrance  to 
their  harbor,  where  the  creek  became  so  narrow  that  the 
attacking  gun  boats  found  it  necessary  to  pole  even  up 
that  far. 

Lieutenant  Scott  set  his  men  to  work,  to  remove  the  bar- 
riers to  his  ingress,  but  a  brisk  fire  soon  caused  him  to  de- 
sist, and  indeed  he  was  very  much  disabled.  The  only 
gun-boat  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  enemy 
was  already  disabled,  and  the  consequences  might  have 
been  disastrous  but  for  the  gallant  conduct  of  the  soldiers, 
who  leaped  from  the  sternmost  boats,  up  to  their  necks, 
carrying  their  muskets  high  over  head,  and  charged  the 
enemy  on  landing,  causing  them  to  retreat  with  precipita- 
tion behind  their  entrenchment.     While  this  was  being 


(1)  Synonymous  with  "Cranberry  Creek." 


GENERAL  WILKINSON'S  EXPEDITION.       75 


r 
le 

Lt 

Id 

la 


done,  the  gun-boats  were  got  afloat  and  put  to  rights,  and 
the  soldiers  expeditiously  re-embarkiug,  the  capture  of  the 
provisions  was  abandoned.  Captain  Milnes,  a  volunteer 
aid-de-camp  to  the  commander  ot  the  force<s,  was  killed. 

General    Wilkinson's  Expedition. 

Late  in  1813,  after  many  delays,  apparently  caused  by 
incompetency,  or  negligence  to  co-operate  on  the  part  of 
persons  entrusted  with  important  duties,  an  army  which 
had  been  concentrated  at  Sackets  Harbor,  was  thought  to 
be  in  readiness  to  descend  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  attack 
Montreal. 

On  the  26th  of  October,  a  part  of  these  forces  were  em- 
barked for  Basin  Harbor  on  Grenadier  Island,  in  a  motley 
fleet  of  scows,  Durham  boats,  common  lake  sail  boats  and 
bateaux — at  a  season  of  the  year  particularly  dangerous  for 
navigation,  and  as  the  result  proved,  under  the  care  of 
pilots  wholly  incompetent  for  the  duties  before  them. 

If,  with  no  enemy  but  the  weather,  it  were  rash  to 
attempt  this  passage  at  so  late  a  period  in  the  year,  the  en 
terprise  appears  one  of  reckless  folly,  when  we  consider 
that  hostile  armed  forces  would  be  certainly  encountered, 
with  all  the  advantages  that  a  previous  knowledge  of  the 
intentions,  and  of  the  route  could  give  them.  The  sequel 
of  this  expedition,  is  nothing  but  a  record  of  disaster.  On 
the  first  day  of  sailing,  a  storm  came  on,  which  strewed 
the  shore  with  wrecks,  and  destroyed  property  of  immense 
value.  The  American  army  gradually  concentrated  upon 
Grenadier  Island,  near  the  outlet  of  the  Lake,  where  from 
exposure  to  the  storm,  great  numbers  sickened,  especially 


ii{j| 


m 


ENGAGEMENT  AT  BARTLETS  POINT. 


\i 


Nl 


among  those  from  tlie  Southern  States,  who  were  unaccus- 
tomed to  the  rigors  of  a  Northern  winter.  At  intervals  of 
the  gale,  boats  were  slipped  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  but  so 
treacherous  were  the  lulls  of  the  tempest,  that  great  peril 
was  encountered  in  passing  from  Grenadier  Island  to  Cape 
Vincent,  and  many  boats  were  driven  ashore,  and  much 
provisions  and  clotlnng  lost  in  this  passage.  To  cover  the 
advance,  Commodore  Chauncey  took  a  position  to  prevent 
the  enemy  from  getting  possession  of  Carleton  Island,  which 

with  some  repairs  would  afford  a  strong  defensive  point, 
and  General  Brown  was  sent  on  to  French  Creek,  where 

the  detachments  were  ordered  to  rendezvous. 

On  the  evening  of  November  1st,  the  enemy  attacked 
General  Brown,  about  sunset,  with  two  brigs,  two  schoon- 
ers, and  several  boats  laden  with  infantry.  He  had  en- 
camped a  short  distance  up  French  Creek,  and  had  caused 
a  battery  of  three  eighteen-pounders  to  be  placed  on  Bart- 
let's  Point,  a  headland  a  short  distance  abov; ,  which  from 
its  elevation  gave  a  decided  advantage  over  the  enemy. 
This  battery  was  under  the  command  of  Captain  Robert 
H.  Macpherson,  of  the  light  infantry,  and  was  served  with 
such  eff(;^ct  that  the  assailants  after  a  little  while  dropped 
down  with  the  current,  beyond  its  range.  The  attack  was 
renewed  the  next  morning,  without  success,  and  one  of  the 
brigs  was  with  difficulty  towed  off.  The  American  loss 
in  this  affair,  was  two  killed  and  four  wounded ;  that  of  the 
British  was  understood  to  be  greater,  but  its  extent  was  not 
ascertained.  ^ 

(1)    Captain  Macpherson  received  the  brevet  rank  of 


NAVAL  PREPARATIONS. 


n 


f 


The  army  of  General  Wilkinson  was  closely  followed  by 
the  enemy,  who,  passing  behind  the  islands,  could  watch 
their  opportunities  for  Larrassing  the  boats,  at  unexpected 
points,  particularly  when  passing  Bald  Island,  about  two 
miles  below  Alexandria,  where  two  gun-boats  appeared 
and  were  driven  back.  The  flotilla  halted  above  Ogdens- 
burgh,  and  was  passed  on  the  night  of  November  7th, 
safely  past  the  batteries  of  Prescott,  excepting  two  large 
gun-boats  heavily  laden,  that  ran  aground  at  Ogdensburgh, 
within  range  of  the  cannon  of  Fort  Wellington,  but  were 
safely  got  off,  and  soon  joined  the  rest  at  the  "Red  Mills," 
now  Lisbon. 

We  will  not  follow  in  detaU  the  movements  of  this  expe- 
dition further  than  to  remark,  that  on  the  11th  of  Novem- 
ber, a  battle  was  fought  at  Chiysler's  Farm,  on  the  north 
shore,  in  which  the  Americans  were  beaten,  and  that, 
abandoning  all  further  plans  of  invasion,  the  army  went 
into  winter  quarters  at  "French  Mills,"  now  Fort  Coving- 
ton, Franklin  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Naval  Enterprise  Upon  Lake  Ontario  in  I8I4. 
During  the  year  1814,  both  nations  were  busy  in  naval 
preparations  upon  the  lake,  and  the  greatest  activity  was 
displayed  in  these  labors  at  Sackets  Harbor  and  Kingston. 
No  sooner  was  the  keel  of  a  frigate  laid  at  one  place,  than, 
an  equal  or  greater  one  was  begun  at  the  other;  and  like 

Major,  for  his  gallantrj'^  on  these  occasions.  He  was  dis- 
tinguished in  the  battle  of  La  Cole,  (L.  C.,)  in  March,  1814, 
where  he  was  severely  wounded,  and  after  the  war,  was 
appointed  Consul  in  Madeira,  where  he  died  Jan.  1,  1817. 


i 


Iff 


78 


NAVAL  PREPARATIONS. 


\ 


:h^ 


Ml 


the  armed  neutrality  of  Europe  in  modern  times,  the  gov- 
ernment was  deemed  most  powerful,  that  could  show  the 
heaviest  armament,  witliout  actually  bringing  the  proof  to 
the  test  of  trial. 

The  following  letter*  from  the  Earl  of  liarthust  will 
show  the  importance  attached  by  the  British  Government 
to  these  preparations: 

*  *  *  "  You  must  be  well  aware  that  on  Lake 
Ontario  particularly,  the  contest  for  Naval  superiority  will 
be  renewed  at  the  commencement  of  the  ensuing  campaign, 
and  that  its  success  will  depend  upon  the  exertions  which 
you  may  be  able  to  make  during  the  winter,  for  increasing 
the  number  and  ethcicncv  of  the  Hect  under  Sir  J.  Yeo. 
You  will  therefore  consider  whether  the  measure  of  build- 
ing ships  in  other  places  to  be  afterwards  transported  to 
the  Lakes  may  not  be  advantageously  applied  to  the  aug- 
mentation of  the  fleet  on  Lake  Ontario,  and  whether  you 
may  not  thus  be  enal)led  to  counteract  the  advantages 
which  the  enemy  have  derived  from  the  abundance  and 
vicinity  of  their  naval  resources  to  which  the  unfortunate 
protraction  of  the  contest  for  superiority  has  been  so 
mainly  owing. 

In  addition  to  the  means  which  have  been  already  placed 
at  your  disposal,  his  Majesty's  government  have  determined 
to  forward  to  you  by  the  first  lleet  in  the  Spring,  two  fri- 
gates in  frame,  with  the  necessary  supplies  of  stores  and 
cordage  for  their  equipment.  With  the  view  to  accelerate 
their  arrival  on  Lake  Ontario,  they  will  be  shipped  on 
board  vessels  of  such  a  draft  of  water  as  to  admit  of  their 
proceeding  direct  v^ith  their  cargos  to  Montreal.  On  your 
part,  it  will  be  necessary  to  make  timely  preparation  for 
their  transport  by  land,  at  those  rapid  parts  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  which  preclude  the  passage  of  Bateaux,  and  for 
supplying  them  with  masts  and  yards. "        *        *        * 

Capture  of  the  Oun-Boat  "  Black  Snake ." 
While  these  preparations  were  going  on,  there  occurred 

(1)  Dated  Bowning  Street,  5th  December,  1813. 


I 


li;'    * 


CAPTURE  OF  A  O UN-BOAT. 


79 


an  event  among  the  Thousand  Islands  that  claims  our 
notice.  With  the  view  of  cutting  off  some  of  the  detach- 
ments of  boats  that  were  ascending  the  St.  Lawrence  with 
supplies,  Commodore  Chauncey,  about  the  middle  of  June, 
directed  Sailing  Master  Francis  H.  Gregory^  to  take  three 
gigs,  with  their  crews,  and  secrete  himself  among  the 
Thousand  Islands,  to  watch  an  opportunity  to  surprise  and 
bring  off,  or  destroy  some  of  the  enemy's  boats  that  were 
massing  up  the  St.  Lawrence.  He  had  under  his  command 
•William  Vaughan^  and  Samuel  Dixon,  Sailing  Masters,  and 
eighteen  men,  armed  with  rifles,  pistols  and  cutlasses.  They 
saw  two  brigades  of  boats  passing  up,  but  full  of  troops, 
and  too  strong  to  attack ;  and  another  passing  down,  and 
not  worth  taking.  Gun-boats  were  found  stationed  about 
six  miles  apart,  and  a  sj^stem  of  telegraphs  erected  on  the 
heights,  so  that  intelligence  could  be  conveyed  with  great 
despatch.  On  the  19th.  the  party  were  lying  close  under 
the  Canadian  shore,  four  miles  below  Alexandria  Bay,  and 
near  Bald  Island,  when  a  gun-boat  was  seen  coming  down 
under  easy  sail,  but  nearer  the  middle  of  the  channel. 
Upon  seeing  the  American  boats,  an  officer,  with  one  or 
two  men,  was  sent  in  a  skiff  that  was  in  tow,  to  make  in- 


f 

I  !  I 


(1)  This  officer  was  born  at  Norfolk,  Ct.,  in  1789,  entered 
the  merchant  service  in  1803,  and  was  appointed  a  Midship- 
man in  1809  and  Sailing  Master  in  1811.  He  was  captured 
in  August,  1814,  and  sent  to  England,  where  he  remained 
till  the  peace.  He  arose  by  successive  grades  to  the  rank 
of  Rear  Admiral,  and  in  the  war  of  1861-5  had  charge  of 
the  building  of  iron-clad  vessels  at  Brooklyn.  He  died  at 
that  place  October  4th.  1866. 

(2)  Captain  Vaughan  died  at  Sackets  Harbor,  December 
10th,  1857,  aged  81  years. 


11 


30  CAPTURE  OF  A  G  UN-BOA  T. 

quiries  of  tliem,  mistaking  them  for  Canadians.  Upon 
approaching,  Gregory  hailed  the  strangers,  demanding  their 
surrender,  which  from  necessity  was  obeyed ;  but  those  on 
board  tlie  gun-boat,  seeing  the  movement,  opened  a  flre, 
which  was  returned.  Tlie  vessel  was  soon  taken,  and 
found  to  be  the  Black  Snake,  or  No.  9,  Captain  Landon, 
with  one  18-pouuder  and  eighteen  men,  chiefly  royal 
marines.  The  prize  was  taken  in  tow,  and  when  a  mile 
and  a  half  below  French  Creek,  was  met  by  a  British  gun- 
boat. Finding  escape  impossible,  the  prisoners  and  small 
arms  were  taken  out,  and  the  prize  scuttled.  The  enemy 
arrived  soon  after,  but  finding  it  impossible  to  save  it  from 
sinking,  pursued  Gregory's  party  several  miles.  Night 
coming  on,  he  escaped,  reached  Grenadier  Island,  in  Lake 
Ontario,  late  in  the  evening,  and  the  next  day  arrived  safe 
at  Sackets  Harbor  with  his  prisoners.  The  Commodore,  in 
his  official  report,  warmly  recommended  Gregory,  Vaughan 
and  Dixon  to  the  notice  of  the  Department,  and  Congress, 
by  an  act  passed  May  4th,  1827,  awarded  |3,000  to  Gregory 
and  his  men  as  prize-money  for  this  service.  Mr.  Gregory 
was  a  few  days  after,  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant 
in  the  Navy.  ^    A  few  days  after  the  destruction  of  the  Black 

(1)  Lieut.  John  Hewson  of  the  89th,  who  was  then  stationed 
at  the  Block  House  on  Bridge  Island,  (since  from  the  ruins 
called  "  Chimney  Island,"  three  miles  and  a  half  above  the 
mouth  of  Toniata  or  Jones'  Creek,  and  close  under  the 
Canadian  Shore,)  in  writing  the  same  day,  gives  further 
details  concerning  the  capture.  But  one  Marine  escaped, 
as  he  happened  to  be  on  Bluff  Island,  and  hid  himself. 
He  reported  the  assailing  force  as  consisting  of  "two 
large  gun-boats  and  a  craft  full  of  men."    Capt.  Landon 


sar^ 


CHIMNEY  ISLAND.  H 

Snake,  the  same  officers  were  sent  to  lie  in  wart  for  tiie 
transports  tliat  were  passing  Presque  Isle  between  Kings- 
ton and  York.  This  place  being  discovered,  Gregory  set 
fire  to  a  vessel  on  the  stocks,  nearly  ready  to  launch,  and  a 
small  building  adjacent,  containing  stores  intended  for  its 
use.  These  being  consumed,  he  crossed  the  lake  to  Oswe- 
go, and  returned  after  about  a  week's  absence  to  Sackets 
Harbor, 

»  These  repeated  adventures  among  the  Thousand  Islands 
led  the  British  to  erect  a  block-house  at  Qananoque,  and 
another  on  Bridge  Island.  The  former  stood  on  a  rocky 
eminence  near  the  present  Market  House,  and  was  taken 
down  in  1855;  its  timbers  still  beina;  sound  and  serviceable. 
The  latter  was  on  an  island  about  ten  miles  above  Brock- 
ville,  near  the  north  shore,  and  formerly  connected  with 
it  by  a  sand-bar.  From  the  ruins  still  standing  this  is 
known  as  "  Chimney  Island.'' 


m 


Belative  Naval  Force  of  American  and  British  Fleets  on 

Lake    Ontario. 

Late  in  1812,  the  opposing  Navies  were  reported  as  fol- 
lows: 


American: — Ontario,  Con- 
quest, Hamilton,  Gov.  Tomp- 
kins, Pert,  Julia  and  Grow- 
ler. 


BuiTiSH :  —  Royal  George, 
Earl  of  Moira,  Pi'ince  Regent, 
Dtike  of  Glm(cesier,  Simcoe 
and  Seneca. 


was  of  the  Militia,  and  a  well  known  partizan.  The  pur- 
suing party  that  met  the  expedition  on  its  return,  was 
under  Lieut.  Campbell,  of  104th.  The  Black  Snake  was 
afterwards  raised  by  Capt.  Owen,  the  gun  and  most  of  the 
stores  recovered,  and  the  boat  sent  to  Kingston  for  repairs. 


82 


NAVAL  FORCES. 


m 


On  the  8th  of  September  1813,  they  had  both  been  in- 
creased, and  were  reported  as  follows: 


American  : — General  Pike, 
34;  MadiHOfi,  2^;  Sylph,  20; 
Oneida,  18;  Duke  of  Glouecx- 
tev,  10;  Oow  Tompkins,  0; 
Conquest,  3;  Ontario,  2;  Asp, 
2;  Fair  American,  2;  Pert,  2; 
Lady  of  the' Lake,  2;  Haven, 
1.     Total,  126  <nins. 


Brttihh:  — Oeneral  Wolfe, 
32;  Royal  George,  22;  Earl 
of  Moira,  1(>;  Prince  Regent, 
14;  Simcoe,  12;  Seneca,  4t' 
Hamilton,  (late  Grottier,)  5; 
Con  fiance,  (late  Julia,)  3;  be- 
sides several  gunboats.  They 
were  then  building  a  40-gun 
frigate  and  two  sloops  of  war 
at  Kingston. 


In  1814,  there  were  active  preparations  on  both  sides, 
but  no  actual  collision  of  the  naval  forces  on  this  lake. 

The  policy  of  building  first  rate  men-of-war  was  adopted 
by  both  Governments,  and  when  peace  was  announced  sev- 
eral large  frigates  had  been  launched  and  equipped  on  each 
side,  and  others  were  upon  the  stocks,  in  rapid  preparation 
for  their  armament.  Under  an  agreement  signed  at  Wash- 
ington in  April  1817,  and  proclaimed  by  the  President, 
April  28  1818,  it  was  arranged  that  neither  Nation  should 
keep  upon  this  Lake  more  than  one  vessel,  of  not  over  100 
tons  and  armed  with  one  eighteen  pound  cannon. 

The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  with  three  pivot-guns  on  deck,  and 
the  brig  Jonea,  with  eighteen  guns  on  deck,  were  kept  up 
till  this  Treaty — the  Pike,  Jefferson,  Mohaink,  Madison,  Sup- 
erior and  Sylph  having  been  dismantled  soon  after  the  peace. 

These  vessels  had  been  mostly  housed  for  prv  servation, 
but  the  annual  returns  showed  from  year  to  year  the  slow 
stages  of  decay,  until  under  an  act  passed  March  8,  1S9A, 


'i 


MONUMENT  AT  SACHETS  HAIiBOR. 


83 


4; 
5; 


'\ 


all  but  the  ships-of-the-line  Ne^r.  Orleans  and  (JhippetDa, 
then  on  the  stocks  and  under  cover,  were  ordered  to  be 
sold.  The  Lady  of  the  Lake  with  one  pivot  gun,  was  kept 
up  for  some  years,  and  the  decaying  hull  of  the  Xnn 
Orleans  at  Sackets  Harbor  is  now  all  that  is  left  of  the 
remainder. 

The  history  of  the  British  fleet  on  Lake  Ontario  is  much 
the  same  as  that  above  related,  and  the  last  vestige  has 
long  since  disappeared. 

Tlie  Projerted  Moionneut  at  Sackets  Harbor. 
In  closing  this  last  notice  of  the  war  of  1812-15,  we 
cannot  omit  to  mention  an  incipient  attempt  to  honor  the 
memories  of  some  of  the  prominent  officers  of  the  Ameri- 
can armj'  who  fell  upon  this  frontier.  While  Colonel 
Brady  was  stationed  at  Madison  Barracks,  Sackeis  Har- 
bor, in  1819,  the  remains  of  most  of  these  officers  were 
brought  thither,  and  buried  at  that  place,  with  the  design 
of  erecting  a  monument  worthy  of  their  memory.  A  tem- 
porary wooden  structure  was  placed  over  the  spot, — the 
form  without  the  substance  of  a  Testimonial,  and  perhaps 
emblematical  of  the  empty  and  perishable  honors  too  often 
besto  ved  upon  those  who  deserve  well  of  their  country. 

In  1853,  this  wooden  monument  had  tumbled  down,  yet 
on  the  rotting  and  broken  panels  might  with  some  diffi- 
culty be  read  the  following  names  : 

North  Side  —  Brigadier-General  L,  Covington,  killed, 
Chrj^sler's  Field,  U.  C,  Nov.  1813;  Lieutenant-Colonel  E, 
Backus,  Dragoons,  killed  at  Sackets  Harbor,  May  29, 
1813. 


!< 


i       <l 


84 


THE  PATRIOT  WAR. 


East  /Sw/e— Colonel  Tuttle,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Dix,  Ma- 
jor Johnson,  Lieutenant  Vandeventer. 

South  Side — Lieutenant-Colonel  Mills,  Volunteer,  killed 
at  Sackets  Harbor,  29tli  May,  1813;  Captain  A.  Spencer, 
29th  Infantry,  aid-de-camp  to  Major-General  Brown,  killed 
at  Lundy's  Lane,  July  25,  1814. 

West  Side — Brigadier-General  Z.  M.  Pike,  killed  at  York, 
U.  C,  27th  April,  1813;  Captain  Joseph  Nicholson,  14th 
Infantry,  aid-de-camp  to  General  Pike,  killed  at  York,  U. 
C,  27th  April,  1813. 

Many  years  since,  the  remains  of  Colonel  Mills  were  re- 
moved to  Albany.  The  remainder,  so  far  as  we  are  in- 
formed, still  lie  dishonored  by  neglect,  witlnn  the  enclosure 
of  Madison  Barracks. 


THE    "PATRIOT  WAR"   OF   1837-39. 

A  scheme,  having  for  its  declared  object  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Republic  in  Canada,  having  been  formed  among 
persons  living  on  both  sides  of  the  Boundary,  in  1837,  some 
events  resulting  from  this  movement  occurred  upon  the  St. 
Lawrence,  that  claim  a  notice  in  this  connection.  The 
burning  of  the  little  steamer  Caroline,  in  American  waters, 
on  the  night  of  Dec.  39,  1837,  by  an  armed  party  from 
Canada,  while  employed  in  the  service  of  the  insurgents 
upon  the  Niagara  River,  led  to  great  excitement  along  the 
Northern  Frontier.  Secret  clubs  known  as  "Hunter 
Lodges,"  were  formed  in  most  of  the  villages  and  cities 
along  the  border,  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  men  and 
raising  money  for  the  invasion  of  Canada. 


m. 


HICKORY  ISLAND. 


85 


TTie  Conquest  of  Hickory  Island. 

Arms  having  been  procured,  by  plundering  the  State 
Arsenals  at  Watertown  and  other  places,  a  revolutionary- 
rabble  began  to  gather  at  Clayton  Village  on  the 
20th  of  February,  1838.  They  had  a  considerable  amount 
of  arms,  munitions,  and  provisions,  including  among  their 
weapons  some  500  long  handled  pikes.  They  came  in 
sleighs  and  on  foot,  from  various  places  in  Jefferson  and 
adjacent  Counties,  and  generally  acknowledged  General 
Rensselaer  Van  Rensselaer  as  their  leader.  They  openly 
avowed  the  design  of  crossing  the  St,  Lawrence  upon  the 
ice,  and  of  making  a  lodgment  at  Gananoque,  from  whence 
to  attack  Kingston.  There  was  neither  organization  nor 
discipline  in  this  motley  crowd,  and  between  those  who 
assumed  to  lead,  there  were  mutual  jealousies,  and  a  want 
of  plan,  that  neutralized  every  operation.  The  weather 
was  intensely  cold,  no  provision  had  been  made  for  their 
shelter,  and  the  men  suffered  greatly  from  exposure.  On 
the  22d  a  portion  repaired  on  foot,  and  in  sleighs,  to  Hick- 
ory Island,  in  British  waters,  about  seven  miles  above 
Clayton,  and  there,  it  is  said,  a  difficulty  arose  about  the 
command,  which  threw  a  damper  on  the  whole  affair. 

On  calling  for  volunteers  to  proceed,  eighty-three  ap- 
peared at  the  first,  seventy-one  at  the  second,  and  thirty, 
five  at  the  third  call ;  then  acting  upon  the  maxim  of  "every 
man  for  himself,"  the  crowd  dispersed — the  officers  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  retaining  enough  men  to  remove  the 
arms  they  had  taken  over.  From  such  inmsions,  it  would 
seem  that  little  harm  could  follow ;  yet  from  prudence,  the 


"ii 


I 


86 


HICKORY  ISLAND. 


i 


military  authorities  at  Kingston  took  measures  lor  resisting 
the  invaders.  A  force  of  1,000  men,  consisting  principally 
of  militia,  was  assembled,  a  part  of  whom  were  posted  on 
Wolfe  Island.  The  enemy  not  appearing,  the  position  of 
affairs  was  soon  discovered,  and  on  the  morning  of  the 
28d,  not  a  man  was  to  be  seen,  having  fled  with  no  one 
pursuing,  and  in  such  haste  that  a  part  of  their  weapons 
and  supplies  w^ere  left  behind  them.  Among  these  was  a 
quantity  of  broken  iron,  intended  to  be  used  in  place  of 
cannon  balls.  This  panic,  it  is  said,  was  enhanced  by  the 
declaration  of  a  3Iilitia  Captain  of  the  war  of  1812,  who 
passed  up  and  down  among  the  crowd,  and  proclaimed  in 
a  loud  voice  tJiat  before  morning  they  icould  be  all  massacred/ 
The  thought  of  this  awful  fate  gave  w  ings  to  their  flight, 
and  with  a  laudable  anxiety  for  the  w^elfare  of  the  families 
they  had  left  behind  them,  when  they  set  out  for  the  seat 
of  war,  the  new  recruits  in  a  few  hours  had  all  dispersed  to 
their  homes.  Soon  afterwards  two  companies  of  State 
Militia  were  stationed  for  a  few  weeks  at  Cape  Vincent  and 
Clayton,  to  intercept  any  other  expedition  that  might  be 
fitted  out  against  Canad"^. 

The  invasion  of  Hickory  Island  caused  the  greatest 
alarm  in  Kingston;  for,  in  addition  to  the  forces  on  the 
Island,  and  more  expected  from  the  American  side,  it  was 
rumored  that  a  large  body  of  malcontents  from  the  back 
townships  were  to  co-operate,  and  that  Kingston  w^as  to  be 
given  up  to  plunder  and  rapine.  Plate,  morey,  jewels, 
and  other  valuables  in  families,  and  the  specie  in  the  Bank, 
were  hastily  collected  and  lodged  in  the  Fort.    Every  man 


1 


THE  SIR  ROBERT  PEEL. 


87 


I 


)' 


able  to  bear  arms  was  mustered,  and  so  far  as  the  means, 
allowed  the  recruits  were  armed.  As  neither  invaders  nor 
defenders  were  uu^ formed,  the  latter  were  enjoined  to  bind 
a  strip  of  white  linen  around  their  caps.  But  an  eye  wit- 
ness says:  "Candor  compels  mo  to  add.  without  the  least 
disparagement  to  the  valor  of  any,  that  in  many  cases  the 
adornment  appeared  to  be  superfluous;  since  the  paleness 
of  the  lengthened  visages  beneath  it  would  have  faiily 
borne  tlie  palm  from  the  whitest  linen  that  was  ever 
bleached."^  This  author  does  nor  except  himself  in  this 
description,  but  attributes  the  phenomenon  to  the  insufti- 
ciericy  of  his  weapon,  w^hich  consisted  of  an  old  rusty 
sabre  without  edge,  point  or  handle.  ^ 

Burning  of  the  Steamboat  Sir  Robert  Peel. 
At  about  midnight,  on  the  night  between  May  29th  and 
30th,  1838,  as  the  British  Steamer  Sir  Robert  Peel^  was  tak- 
ing in  wood  at  McDonnel's  Wharf,  on  the  south  side  of 
Wellesley  Island,  in  the  town  of  Clayton,  a  party,  consist- 
ing of  thirteen  men,^  under  the  lead  of  William  Johnston, 

(1)  lliree  Years  Remlence  in  Canada,  from  1SS7  to  1839, 
by  T.  R.  Preston,  London.  1840.     i.  p.  140. 

(2)  A  minute  account  of  the  Hickory  Island  invasion  is 
given  in  Sir  11.  li.  Bonnvcastle's  ''Canada  as  it  Was,  Is,  and 
May  Be."    London,  1852. 

(8)  This  was  a  staunch  steamer,  built  the  year  before  at 
Brockville,  and  was  about  15  )  feet  long  by  80  in  width,  and 
on  this  occasion  was  in  charge  of  Captain  John  B.  Arm- 
strong. 

(4)  The  accounts  published  at  the  time  give  the  number 
of  the  boarding  party  as  twenty-one.  We  adopt  the  state- 
ment received  from  Johnston  himself,  when  preparing  our 
history  of  Jefferson  county,  in  1853.  He  said  the  attack 
was  planned  by  a  Cleveland  Committee,  who  totally  failed 


M 


Iil 


#1 


I 


1  1 


88  BURNINO  THE  STEAMER. 

painted  like  Indians,  and  armed  with  muskets  and  bayonets, 
rushed  on  board,  yelling  and  shouting  "  Remembe?'  tlie 
Caroline!" 

There  were  nineteen  passengers  on  board,  mostly  asleep 
in  their  berths,  and,  of  course,  they  were  exceedingly 
alarmed.  The^^  were  hastily  driven  on  shore — some  with 
scarcely  more  than  their  night  clothes  upon  them.  Some 
of  their  baggage  was  set  off,  and  towards^  morning  the 
Steamer,  having  been  plundered  by  the  brigands,  was  cast 
off  into  the  stream,  and  set  on  tire.  The  burning  vessel 
drifted  down  till  it  lodged  upon  a  small  island,  which 
since,  from  this  circumstance,  has  been  known  as  Peel 
Island. 

It  was  afterwards  said  that  the  design  in  this  attack  was 
to  capture  and  use  the  Steamer  for  the  purposes  of  the  insur- 
gents, and  that  a  party  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  had 
been  promised  for  this  service.  As  Johnston  and  his  men 
could  not  manage  the  Steamer,  and  as  the  force  that  was 
to  have  been  on  hand  did  not  appear,  the  alternative  of 
destruction  was  adopted. 

The  night  was  dark  and  rainy,  and  the  only  building  in 
the  vicinity  was  a  woodman's  shanty,  where  the  passengers 
found  shelter  till  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  the 
Oneida,  Captain  Smith,  coming  down  on  her  regular  trip, 
found  them  in  this  distressed  condition,  and  returned  with 
them  to  Kingston. 

to  meet  their  engagements.  Many  more  details  of  the 
affair  are  given  in  the  County  History  here  referred  to,  and 
in  Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the  War  of  IS  12. 


'BILL'  JOHNSTON.  89 

This  event  created  the  greatest  excitement  on  botli  sides 
of  the  River,  and  large  rewards  were  offered  by  Governor 
Marcy,  of  New  York,  and  by  tlie  Earl  of  Durham,  then 
Governor  of  Canada,  for  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  the 
persons  concerned  in  the  crime. 

On  the  7tli  of  June,  nine  persons  charged  with  participa- 
tion in  this  affair,  were  lodged  in  jail  at  Watertown,  and 
afterwards  others.  Their  trial  excited  great  interest,  but 
did  not  lead  to  the  conviction  of  any  under  arrest. 

As  soon  as  the  news  reached  Washington,  ]\Iajor-General 
Macomb  was  dispatched  to  Sackets  Harbor,  to  take  such 
course  as  the  exigencies  required.  On  the  20tli  of  June  he 
sent  word  to  Sir  John  Colbourne,  or  the  officer  command- 
ing at  Kingston,  iuviiing  co-operation  in  a  search  among 
the  Thousand  Islands  for  the  persons  who  had  plundered 
and  burned  the  Peel,  and  a  few  days  after  Colonel  Dundas 
of  the  British  armj%  crossed  and  held  an  interview,  which 
resulted  in  an  agreement  for  a  joint  effort  to  be  made  on 
the  2d  of  July  to  arrest  the  ijarties.  After  a  search  of  sev- 
eral days,  their  retreat  was  discovered ;  but  in  their  attempt 
to  take  the  outlaws,  all  but  two  escaped.  The  gang  con- 
sisted of  but  eight  men  at  that  time,  of  whom  Johnston 
was  one. 

This  daring  leader  for  many  months  baffled  all  efforts  at 

pursuit,   which  he  was  able  to  do  through  his  intimate 

knowledge  of  the  Islands,  and  the  vigilance  of  his  friends. 

The  principal  agent  through  whom  he  obtained  intelligence 

of  the  pursuit,  and  subsistence  during  this  period,  was  his 

daughter  "Kate,"  who  with  a  skill,   fidelity  and  success 
6 


M 


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I     I' 


! 

H 

■^  i 

w 

1 

■  i 

.1 

1: 

90 


BILL'  JOHNSTON. 


that  commanded  the  admiration  of  sympathizers  in  the 
rebellion  throughout  the  country,  conveyed  her  father  by 
night  from  place  to  place,  and  supplied  him  with  food. 

Thus,  from  May  to  November,  Johnston  evaded  every 
effort  that  was  made  for  his  arrest.  At  the  time  when  the 
Patriots  made  a  lodgement  in  the  Windmill  at  Prescott,  he 
appeared  publicly  in  the  streets  at  Ogdensburgh,  but  al- 
though he  was  well  known  there,  no  one  offered  to  arrest 
him.  At  length,  weary  with  hiding,  he  resolved  to  give 
himself  up  to  his  son  John,  who  might  thus  claim  the  re- 
ward. On  the  17th  of  November,  1838,  he  left  Ogdens- 
burgh in  a  boat  with  his  son,  when  Deputy  Marshal  Mc- 
Cullock  pursued  and  overtook  him  about  two  miles  above. 
He  was  tried  at  Syracuse  before  Judge  Alfred  Conkling,on 
a  charge  of  violating  the  neutrality  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  acquitted, — was  again  arrested — escaped,  and  a 
reward  of  $200  offered  for  his  apprehension.  He  was 
arrested  a  few  miles  from  Rome^  taken  to  Albany,  tried, 
and  sentenced  to  a  year  in  jail  and  a  fine  of  $250.  His 
daughter  sought  and  obtained  permission  to  share  his  im- 
prisonment. 

At  the  end  of  six  months  he  managed  to  escape  early  one 
evening,  and  walked  forty  miles  before  morning.  The  ex- 
ploits of  this  leader  became  widely  celebrated  at  the  time, 
and  made  him  the  hero  of  the  day.     He  was  commissioned 

(1)  This  arrest  was  made  by  Captain  Vaughan,  of  Sack- 
ets  Harbor,  Avho  has  already  been  mentioned  on  p.  79.  A 
son  of  Vaughan  was  among  the  prisoners  captured  at  the 
Windmill  near  Prescott.  He  was  pardoned,  doubtless  on 
account  of  the  service  rendered  by  the  fucher. 


I 


) 


I 


T 


'BILL'  JOHNSTON. 


91 


'  li 


i 


in  September,  1839,  as  "Commodore  of  the  Navy,  audCom- 
mander-inchief  of  all  the  Naval  Forceps  of  the  Canadian 
Patriot  Service  in  Upper  Canada,"  but  declined  the  ap- 
pointment, as  tlie  Rebellion  had  proved  a  failure,  and  he 
had  suffered  enough  already. 

He  remained  concealed,  after  his  escape  from  Albany, 
until  tran(ii;ility  was  restored,  when  he  went  to  Washing- 
ton, with  a  petition  numerously  signed,  asking  for  a  par- 
don from  the  President.  This  was  refused  by  Van  Buren, 
but  soon  after  granted  by  Harrison,  and  he  returned  openly 
to  his  ordinary  pursuits  at  home.  He  was  afterwards  ap- 
pointed keeper  of  Rock  Island  Liglit,  which  shines  on  the 
spot  where  the  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  burned  ^ 

"Bill  Johnston,"  as  he  was  called  in  derision  by  his  ene- 
mies, and  in  affectionate  admiration  by  his  friends,  was 
not  in  common  life,  by  any  means,  one  of  the  criminal 
classes.     With  thousands  of  others,  he  was  deluded  into 

(1)  Johnston  was  born  at  Three  Rivers,  Lower  Canada, 
Feb.  1,  1783,  his  father  being  Irish  and  his  mother  Dutch, 
from  New  Jersey.  He  left  Canada  when  a  young  man; 
lived  at  various  times  at  Sackets  Harbor,  Watertown  and 
at  other  places  in  Jefferson  County,  and  for  some  years 
kept  a  ferry  to  Wolfe  Island.  During  the  war  of  1812-15 
he  rendered  important  partizan  services,  by  procuring  in- 
formation from  the  enemy,  and  by  intercepting  their  mails. 
This  may  have  led  to  his  appointment  late  in  life,  to  the 
place  of  keeper  of  a  Light  House.  He  died  at  Clayton  Feb. 
17,  1870,  at  the  age  of  88  years.  His  portrait  is  given  in 
Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the  War  of  1813,  p.  6G3,  with  a 
facsimile  of  his  signature. 

His  daughter,  so  often  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
events  of  that  period,  married  Mr.  Charles  H.  Hawes,  of 
Clayton,  and  died  March  14,  1878,  aged  59  years,  6  months 
and  3  days. 


I 


I 


'I  '! 


!■ 


9$  BATTLE  OF  THE  WINDMILL. 

an  idea  of  aiding  the  Canadas  to  gain  their  independence, 
and  for  this  enterprise,  nature  liad  endowed  him  with  a 
will,  energy  and  courage,  that  brought  him  conspicuously 
into  notice,  and  made  him  a  leader  among  men  who  might 
admire,  but  could  not  imitate  his  example.  lu  his  daily 
life,  he  was  a  quiet,  law-abiding  and  respectable  citizen, — 
positive  and  independent  in  his  opinions,  and  if  he  was 
sometimes  strong  in  his  personal  dislikes,  he  was  always 
true  to  his  friends. 

Battle  of  the  Windmill. 

On  the  11th  of  November,  1838,  the  Bteamer  United 
States  touched  at  Sackcts  Harbor,  on  her  downward  trip, 
having  on  board  150  male  passengers  with  little  baggage; 
and  many  circumstances  tended  to  excite  suspicion  that 
they  were  upon  a  military  expedition.  Their  number  was 
increased  by  twenty  or  thirty  at  the  Harbor,  and  by  ten  or 
eleven  more  at  Cape  Vincent. 

On  arriving  a  little  below  Milieu's  Bay,  she  overtook  the 
schooners  Charlotte  of  Oswego,  and  Charlotte  of  Toronto, 
which  were  taken  in  tow — one  on  each  side,  at  the  request 
of  a  passenger,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  these 
vessels  cor^tained  munitions  of  war,  and  great  numbers  of 
men,  who,  with  most  of  the  passengers  on  board  the 
Steamer  were  destined  for  a  descent  upon  Prescott. 

An  effort  was  afterwards  made  to  prove  that  the  Captain 
of  the  Steamer  was  not  previously  aware  of  the  object  of 
his  passengers,  or  the  purposes  of  the  vessels  he  had  in  tow. 

A  consultation  was  had  between  the  Captain  and  two  of 
the  owners  who  were  present,  and  a  State  Bank  Commis- 


I 


Ill 


BATTLE  OF  THE  WINDMILL. 


93 


, 


), 


aioner  wlio  was  a  passenger,  and  it  was  concluded  to  stop 
at  Morristown,  and  give  information  to  a  Magistrate,  and 
send  word  by  express  to  Ogdensburgli. 

Just  before  tlie  Steamer  reached  Morristown,  about 
eleven  o'clock  Sunday  evening,  Nov.  11th,  the  vessels  were 
unfastened  and  dropped  astern.  The  Steamer  after  stop- 
ping two  hours  and  a  half,  resumed  her  course  to  Ogdens- 
burgh,  arriving  at  three  o'clock  on  Monday  morning. 

The  Steamer  was  the  next  day  pressed  into  the  service  of 
the  "Patriots,"  and  during  the  day,  the  invading  forces 
were  landed,  and  posted  in  a  stone  tower  built  in  1823, 
as  a  Windmill  for  grinding  grain,  but  then  not  in  use. 
In  1873,  it  was  fitted  up  as  a  Light-House. 

Here,  until  the  Friday  following,  they  held  out  against 
the  Canadian  military  forces  brought  against  them ;  but  in 
the  mean  time,  heavy  artillery  had  been  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  mill,  which  would  ere  long  demolish  their  strong 
hold,  and  bury  them  in  its  ruins.  Their  scanty  supply  of 
provisions  and  ammunition  was  exhausted, — and  through 
the  active  exertions  of  the  authorities  on  both  sides,  it  was 
impossible  for  them  to  receive  more ;  the  promised  co-oper- 
ation from  up  the  Lake  did  not  arrive,  and  it  finally  became 
evident  that  they  had  no  gi'ound  for  hope  unless  in  uncon- 
ditional surrender. 

Accordingly,  about  noon,  on  Friday,  (November  15th) 
the  firing;  ceased  and  the  whole  party  surrendered  at  dis- 
cretion. 

The  Canadian  forces  lost  in  this  affair,  two  ofiicers  and 
thirteen  rank  and  file  killed,  and  four  officers  and  fifty-five 
rank  and  file  wounded. 


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94  BATTLE  OF  THE  WINDMILL. 

The  "Patriots"  ia  this  affair  were  under  the  command  of 
Von  Schoults,  a  Polish  exile  who  had  been  living  some 
years  at  Syracuse.  The  prisoners  wer.'  conveyed  to  Foit 
Henry,  at  Kingston,  and  a  Court-Martial  was  organized  for 
their  trial,  that  began  its  session  on  the  26th  day  of  Novem- 
ber. 

This  expedition,  virtually  ended  the  "Patriot  War,"  and 
anxiety  for  the  fate  of  the  prisoners — the  desperate  efforts 
of  their  friends  to  procure  a  mitigation  of  punishment,  and 
active  measures  to  put  an  end  to  further  agitation,  became 
the  absorbing  thenit  s  of  the  day. 

Of  the  one  hundrtBd  aod  sixty  three  men  and  boys  who 
were  captured  in  the  Windmill,  ten  were  hung,  sixty  were 
transported  to  Van  Diemen's  Land,  three  were  acquitted, 
fifty  eight  pardoned,  eighteen  released  and  four  turned 
Queen's  evidence.  We  have  not  learned  the  fate  of  the  re- 
maining ten.^  After  about  three  years,  the  convicts  in 
Van  Diemen's  Land  were  pardoned  by  the  Queen,  and  re- 
turned home. 

The  irritation  which  these  events  occasioned,  did  not  at 
once  subside,  and  several  of  the  American  Steamers,  es- 
pecially the  "  United  States,"  were  regarded  with  aversion 
on  the  Canada  side  for  some  time.  As  this  Steamer  was 
leaving  Ogdensburgh  on  the  evening  of  April  14,  1839, 
with  a  large  number  of  passengers  on  board,  from  six  to 
ten  rounds  of  musket  shot  were  fired  from  the  wharf  at 


(1)  History  oj  St.  Lawrence  and  Franklin  Counties  (1853) 
pp.  661—674. 

History  of  Jefferson  Co.  (1854),  pp.  519-529. 


>' 


• 


1 


SEIZURE  OF  A  CANNON.  96 

Prescott,  upon  which  an  angry  crowd  had  assembled,  and 
the  same  evening  she  was  fired  upon  from  the  wharf  at 
Brockville.  A  subsequent  inquiry  failed  to  fix  upon  any 
particular  ones  as  the  culprits.^  On  the  17th  of  May, 
1839,  the  Schooner  G.  S.  Weeks,  stopped  at  Brockville  to 
discharge  some  merchandise,  and  the  usual  papers  were 
sent  to  the  Custom  House.  Permission  to  unload  was 
granted,  when  it  was  noticed  that  an  iron  six-pounder  was 
lying  upon  deck,  belonging  to  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
consigned  to  Captain  A.  B.  James,  at  O^^densburgh,  being 
sent  to  replace  one  that  had  been  seized  by  the  "Patriots  " 
in  the  affair  at  the  Windmill  in  the  preceding  year. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  seize  this  gun,  which  was  re- 
sisted by  the  crew,  when  the  Collector  came  up  and  took 
possession  of  the  vessel,  under  the  pretext  of  some  irregu- 
larity in  her  papers.  The  gun  was  taken  out,  paraded 
through  the  streets,  and  fired  several  times  by  the  mob  in 
triumph.  Word  was  sent  to  Col.  Worth  at  Sackets  Har- 
bor, who  at  once  repaired  to  the  scene  of  disturbance,  and 
a  few  hours  after,  a  Steamer  with  British  Regulars  arrived 
from  Kingston.  By  the  united  efforts  of  the  Military 
Ofllicers  and  of  the  Civil  Magistrates,  the  gun  was  finally 
surrendered  by  the  mob  without  a  collision,  which  for  a 
time  seemed  imminent  and  inevitable,  and  some  of  the 
ring-leaders  were  arrested  and  lodged  in  the  guard-house. 
These  disturbances  brought  Governor  Arthur  to  Brock- 

(1)  Fuller  details  of  this  and  other  events  upon  the  Fron- 
tier at  this  period,  are  given  in  our  "History  of  St.  Law- 
rence and  Franklin  Counties,"  p.  671. 


'If 


5  «^^5^ 


r 

1 

1 

■■:i 

r 

i 

96 


THE  DISTURBANCES  ENDED. 


ville,  and  an  eflfort  was  made  to  justify  these  proceedings, 
by  those  who  had  participated  in  them.  It  is  due  to  the 
Canadian  Press  and  to  the  more  considerate  portion  of  the 
inhabitants  to  notice,  that  they  very  generally  denounced 
this  seizure  as  unjustified.  The  Collector  was  removed 
from  office,  and  the  irritation  gradually  wore  away. 

The  complete  suppression  of  this  rebellion,  left  the  Gov- 
ernment stronger  than  before,  and  doubtless  led  those  who 
were  in  its  counsels  to  a  thoughtful  study  of  the  causes 
that  may  have  led  to  the  discontent.  It  was  followed  by  a 
union  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  under  one  Government, 
the  two  sections  taking  the  names  of  "Canada  East"  and 
"Canada  West,"^  the  general  Seat  of  Government  being 
located  at  Kingston.  In  1845  this  was  changed  to  Montreal, 
and  at  a  later  period  it  alternated  a  few  years  between 
Quebec  and  Toronto,  until  in  1865  it  was  permanently  fixed 
at  Ottawa.  Lord  Sydenham  was  Governor  of  Canada  at 
the  time  of  the  Union.  He  died  at  Kingston,  September 
19,  1841  in  the  forty  second  year  of  his  age,  about  two 
years  after  his  arrival  in  the  country. 


(2)  The  i'roclamation  of  Union,  was  dated  Feb.  10,  1841. 


1 


DESCRIPTIONS  BY  TRAVELLERS 


AND  BY 


N^^ 


]4l^T0RIC/J-  y^J^D  ^TATI^TICAJ.  ^F^ITER^. 


tl 


f 
\  if? 


4 

|1  ;:,!* 


! 


'* 


IMI-S-Ulii 


DESCRIPTIONS  BY  TRAVELLERS  AND  BY  HIS- 
TORICAL AND  STATISTICAL  WRITERS. 


FATHER   CHARLEVOIX — (1721). 

Pierre  Francois  Xavier  Charlevoix  was  born  in  1682, 
became  a  Jesuit  priest,  and  in  1730-1722  niade  a  voyage 
to  North  America  under  orders  from  the  King  of  France. 
Passing  up  the  St.  Lawrence  and  through  the  Lakes,  he 
found  his  way  to  the  Mississippi,  and,  after  encountering 
many  difficulties,  finally  reached  San  Domingo,  and 
returned  from  thence  to  France.  Besides  his  Journal  of 
Travels,  wliich  was  written  in  epistolary  form,  he  wrote  a 
History  of  New  France,  which  is  regarded  as  high  author- 
ity. He  closed  a  life  devoted  to  study  and  travel,  on  the 
18th  of  February,  1761. 

The  Journal  of  his  Travels^  abounds  in  historical,  ethno- 
logical and  topographical  information,  and  he  was  a  close 
observer  of  Natural  History.  His  description  of  this  region 
is  brief,  and  is  given  in  a  letter  dated  at  Catarocoui  [Kings- 
ton] May  14,  1721,  in  which  he  says: 

"  Five  or  six  leagues  from  la  Galette  is  an  island  called 
Toniata,  ^  the  soil  of  which  appears  tolerably  fertile,  and 

(1)  An  English  edition  of  these  Travels,  published  in  1761, 
(3  vols.,  pp.  800)  furnishes  the  extract  here  given. 

(2)  Probably  the  same  as  that  known  on  modern  maps  as 
Grenadier  or  Barthu'st  Island.  The  middle  part  is  quite 
fertile,  and  well  adapted  for  settlement. 


3      -^ 


100 


FATHER  CHARLEVOIX. 


which  is  about  half  a  league  long.  An  Iroquois  called 
'  TJie  Quaker,'  for  what  reason  I  know  not — a  man  of  ex- 
cellent good  sense,  and  much  devoted  to  the  French — had 
obtained  the  right  of  it  from  the  Count  de  Frontenac,  and 
he  shows  his  Patent  to  everybody  that  desires  to  see  it.  He 
has,  liowever,  sold  his  Lordship  lor  four  pots  of  brandy ;  but 
he  has  reserved  the  usufruct  for  his  own  life,  and  has  got 
together  on  it  eighteen  or  twenty  families  of  his  own 
nation.  I  found  him  at  work  in  his  garden;  this  is  not 
usual  with  the  Indians,  but  this  person  aflfects  to  follow  all 
the  French  manners.  He  received  me  very  well,  and  would 
have  regaled  me,  but  the  fine  weather  invited  me  to  pursue 
my  voyage.  I  took  my  leave  of  him,  and  went  to  pass  the 
night  two  leagues  from  hence,  in  a  very  pleasant  spot.  I 
had  still  thirteen  leagues  to  sail  before  I  could  reach  Cata- 
rocoui;  the  weather  was  fine,  and  the  night  very  clear. 
This  prevailed  with  us  to  embark  at  three  in  the  morning. 
We  passed  through  the  middle  of  a  kind  of  an  Archipelago, 
which  they  call  Milk  lies,  (the  Thousand  Isles,)  and  I  be- 
lieve there  are  above  five  hundred  of  them.  After  you 
have  got  from  among  them,  you  have  only  a  league  and  a 
half  to  sail  to  reach  Catarocoui.  The  river  is  open,  and  is 
full  half  a  league  wide.  You  then  leave  upon  the  right 
three  great  bays,  pretty  deep,  and  the  fort  is  built  in  the 
third." 

Fort  Catarocoui  was  described  by  Charlevoix  as  a  square, 
with  four  bastions,  built  with  stone,  and  the  ground  it 
occupies  as  a  quarter  of  a  league  in  circuit.  The  situation 
was  very  pleasant,  and  the  view  upon  the  river  remarka- 
bly fine. 

An  anonymous  folio  printed  for  Thomas  Jeffreys  in  1760,  * 
repeats  (page  15)  the  account  given  by  Charlevoix  a.bout 
the  Indian  living  on  Toniata  Island,  and  what  is  said  by 
him  concerning  the  Thousand  Islands. 


(1)  TTie  Natural  and  Civil  History  of  the  French  Dominions 
in  North  and  South  America,  etc.     London,  1760. 


lt« 


COOPERS  ''STATION  island:' 


101 


JAMES  FENIMORE   COOPER'S    IDEAL    "STATION    ISLAND. 

{Assumed  to  be  about  1755). 
In  the  third  of  his  series  of  "Leather-Stocking  Tales," 
as  placed  by  its  author,  although  not  in  the  order  of  publi- 
cation, is  "The  Pathfinder,"  a  romance  by  some 
regarded  as  the  most  pleasing  of  the  many  that  were 
sketched  by  the  pen  of  this  popular  writer.  In  his  youth, 
James  Cooper,  (as  he  was  known  until  a  middle  name  was 
inserted  by  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York, 
in  1826),  had  been  a  Midshipman  in  the  American  Navy, 
and  in  this  capacity  was  stationed  for  a  time  at  Oswego, 
where  the  first  beginning  was  made  in  the  construction  of 
an  American  naval  armament  upon  Lake  Ontario,  under 
Commodore  Woolsey,  in  the  Summer  of  1808.  Of  this 
period  of  his  life,  the  author  liimself  says: 

"This  was  pretty  early  in  tht  present  Centur}^  when  the 
navigation  was  still  confined  to  the  employment  of  a  few 
ships  and  schooners.  Since  that  day,  light  may  be  said  to 
have  broken  into  the  wilderness,  and  the  rays  of  the  sun 
have  penetrated  to  tens  of  thousands  of  beautiful  valleys 
and  plains,  that  then  lay  in  'grateful  shade.'  Towns  have 
been  built  along  the  whole  of  the  extended  line  of  coasts, 
and  the  traveller  now  stops  at  many  places  of  ten  or  fifteen, 
and  at  one  of  even  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  where  a  few 
huts  then  marked  the  sites  of  future  marts." 

« 

Amid  these  familiar  scenes.  Cooper  laid  the  plan  of  his 
romance,  and  the  descriptions  of  scenery  and  of  natural 
topography  which  the  book  contains,  he  regards  "as  nearly 
accurate  as  is  required  b}"  the  laws  which  govern  fiction," 
although  these  wild  solitudes  of  Lake  Ontario  as  he  saw 
them,  are  so  no  longer.  The  period  assigned  for  the 
romance,  was  about  the  middle  of  the  last  Century,  while 


I  I 


N 


M     i' 


' 


I:*'! 


102 


COOPERS    'STATION  island:' 


the  Englisli  held  a  military  and  trading  post  at  Oswego, 
and  the  French  tlie  region  to  the  north  and  west  of  the 
Lake, extending  in  a  chain  of  posts  from  tlieir  possessions  in 
Lower  Canada  to  those  on  the  Mississippi.  It  was  not  long 
before  the  hostilities  began  that  ended  in  the  conquest  of 
the  French  in  Canada,  and  the  full  establishment  of  the 
English  power,  and  of  peace  along  the  whole  lino  of  this 
memorable  Frontier. 

We  will  not  attempt  to  give  an  outline  of  the  plot  of  the 
tale,  leaving  that  to  be  known  by  those  who  would  wish 
the  details  from  the  book  itself.  It  is  sufficient  for  our 
present  use,  to  copy  some  of  the  descriptions  of  scenery  of 
the  Thousand  Islands, — among  the  intricate  mazes  of  which 
the  author  has  placed  The  Station,  upon  which  depends 
a  part  of  the  plot.  It  was,  indeed,  as  he  represented  it,  in 
that  day,  a  place  hard  to  find,  the  approach  being  full  of 
diflBculties  and  dangers.  The  way  was  known  to  but  a 
favored  few,  to  whom  the  secret  was  in  confidence  entrusted, 
and  the  place  is  now,  like  Calypso's  favored  Isle,  an  open 
question  for  those  who  choose  to  explore. 

"  The  Station,  as  the  place  was  familiarly  termed  by  the 
soldiers  of  the  55th,  was  indeed  a  spot  to  raise  expectations 
of  enjoyment  among  those  who  had  been  cooped  up  so 
long  in  a  vessel  of  the  dimensions  of  the  Scud.  None  of 
the  islands  were  high,  though  .ill  lay  at  a  sufficient  eleva- 
tion above  the  water  to  render  them  perfectly  healthy  and 
secure.  Each  had  more  or  less  of  wood,  and  the  greater 
number  at  that  distant  day  were  clothed  with  the  virgin 
forest.  The  one  selected  by  the  troops  for  their  purpose 
was  small,  containing  about  twenty  acres  of  land,  and  by 
some  of  the  accidents  of  the  wilderness,  it  has  been  partly 
stripped  of  its  trees,  probably  centuries  before  the  period 
of  which  we  are  writing,  and  a  little  grassy  glade  covered 


^1 


MiirtNWiim«W 


^sasSSmm 


COOPERS  ''STATION  island:' 


109 


>i 


nearly  half  its  surface.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  officer 
who  had  made  the  selection  of  this  spot  for  a  military  post, 
that  a  sparkling  spring  near  hy  had  early  caught  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Indians,  and  that  they  had  long  frequented  this 
particular  place  in  their  hunts,  or  when  fishing  for  salmon 
— a  circumstance  that  had  kept  down  the  second-growth, 
and  given  time  for  the  natural  grasses  to  take  root,  and  to 
gain  dominion  over  the  soil.  Lei  the  cause  be  what  it 
might,  the  etfect  was  to  render  this  island  far  more  beauti- 
ful than  most  of  those  around  it,  and  to  lend  an  air  of 
civilization  that  was  then  wanting  in  so  much  of  that  vast 
region  of  coimtry. 

The  shores  of  Station  Island  were  completely  fringed 
with,  bushes,  and  great  care  had  been  taken  to  preserve 
them,  as  they  answered  as  a  screen  to  conceal  the  persons 
and  things  collected  within  their  circle.  Favored  by  this 
shelter,  as  well  as  of  that  of  several  thickets  of  trees  and 
different  coppices,  some  six  or  eight  low  huts  had  been 
erected  to  be  used  as  quarters  for  the  officer  and  his  men, 
to  contain  stores,  and  to  serve  the  purposes  of  kitchen,  hos- 
pital, etc.  These  huts  were  built  of  logs,  in  the  usual 
manner,  had  been  roofed  by  bark  brought  from  a  distance, 
lest  signs  of  labor  should  attract  attention,  and,  as  they 
had  now  been  inhabited  some  months,  were  as  comfortable 
as  dwellings  of  that  description  usually  ever  get  to  be. 

At  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Island,  however,  was  a 
small,  dense-wooded  peninsula,  with  a  thicket  of  under- 
brush so  thickly  matted  as  nearly  to  prevent  the  possibility 
of  seeing  across  it,  so  long  as  the  leaves  remained  on  the 
branches.  Near  the  narrow  neck  that  connected  this  acre 
with  the  rest  of  the  Island,  a  small  block  house  had  been, 
erected  with  some  attention  to  its  means  of  resistance.  The 
logs  were  bullet-proof,  squared  and  jointed  with  a  care  to 
leave  no  defenceless  points;  the  windows  were  loop-holes; 
the  door  massive  and  small;  and  the  roof,  like  the  rest  of 
the  structure,  was  framed  of  hewn  timber,  covered  prop- 
erly with  bark  to  exclude  the  rain.  The  lower  apartment, 
as  usual,  contained  stores  and  provisions;  here,  indeed,  the 
party  kept  all  their  supplies;  the  second  story  was  intended 
for  a  dwelling  as  well  as  for  a  citadel,  and  a  low  garret  was 
subdivided  into  two  or  three  rooms,  and  coula  hold  the 
pallets  of  some  ten  or  fifteen  persons.  All  the  arrange- 
ments were  exceedingly  simple  and  cheap,  but  they  were 


\ 


P(i 


f ; 


t  m 


=s-.^aa!aiSS 


10I^ 


COOPERS  "STATION  ISLAND." 


sufficient  to  protect  the  soldiers  against  the  effects  of  a  sur- 
prise. As  tlie  whole  building  was  considerably  less  than 
lorty  feet  high,  its  summit  was  concealed  by  the  tops  of  the 
trees,  except  from  the  ev'es  of  those  who  had  reached  the 
interior  of  the  Island.  On  that  side  the  view  was  open  from 
the  upper  loops,  though  bushes,  even  there,  more  or  less 
concealed  the  base  of  the  wooden  tower.     The  object  being 

Eurely  defense,  care  had  been  taken  to  place  the  block- 
ouse  so  near  an  opening  in  the  limestone  rock  that  formed 
the  base  of  the  Island,  as  to  admit  of  a  bucket's  being 
dropped  into  the  water,  in  order  to  obtain  that  great  essen- 
tial, in  the  event  of  a  siege.  In  order  to  facilitate  this 
operation,  and  to  entilade  the  base  of  the  building,  the 
upper  story  projected  several  feet  beyond  the  lower,  m  the 
manner  usual  to  block-houses, and  pieces  of  wood  tilled  the 
apertures  cut  in  the  log  flooring,  whicli  were  intended  as 
loops  and  traps.  The  communications  between  the  differ- 
ent stories  were  by  means  of  ladders.  If  we  add  that  these 
block-houses  were  intended  as  citadels,  for  garrisons  or 
settlements  to  retreat  to  in  cases  of  attack,  the  general 
reader  will  obtain  a  sufficiently  correct  idea  of  the  arrange- 
ments it  is  our  wish  to  explain. 

But  the  situation  of  the  Island  itself  formed  its  principal 
merit  as  a  military  position.  Lying  in  the  midst  of  twenty 
others,  it  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  find  it,  since  boats 
might  pass  quite  near,  and,  by  the  glimpses  caught  through 
the  openings,  this  particular  island  would  be  taken  for  a 
part  of  some  other.  Indeed,  the  channels  between  the 
islands  that  lay  around  the  one  we  have  been  describing 
were  so  narrow,  that  it  was  even  difficult  to  say  which  por- 
tions of  the  land  were  connected,  or  which  separated,  even 
as  one  stood  in  their  centre,  with  the  express  desire  of 
ascertaining  the  truth.  The  little  bay  in  particular,  that 
Jasper  used  as  a  harbor,  was  so  embowered  with  bushes 
and  shut  in  with  islands,  that,  the  sails  of  the  cutter  being 
lowered,  her  own  people,  on  one  occasion,  had  searched 
for  hours  before  they  could  find  the  Scud,  in  their  return 
from  a  short  excursion  among  the  adjacent  channels  in 
quest  of  fish.  In  short,  the  place  was  admirably  adapted 
to  its  present  uses,  and  its  natural  advantages  had  been  as 
ingeniously  improved  as  economy  and  the  limited  means  of 
a  frontier  post  would  very  well  allow. — {Tlie  Pathfinder, 
Chap,  xix.) 


POUCHOT. 


106 


\ 


CAPTAIN    POUOflOT — (1760.) 

This  writer  was  a  Captain  in  tlie  He^lnicnt  of  Beam  in 
the  war  of  1755-60 — was  commander  of  the  fort  at  Niagara 
when  captured  by  Sir  William  Johnson  in  1758,  and  again 
was  captured  in  Fort  Levis,  a  little  below  Ogdensburgh, 
where  the  last  resistance  was  made  by  the  French  in  the 
conquest  of  Canada,  in  1760. 

His  Journal  was  published  in  Switzerland  after  his  death 
and  affords  much  valuable  information  concerning  the 
country  as  it  existed  in  his  day.  In  speaking  oi  the  cus- 
toms of  the  Canadian  Toyageurs,  he  remarks  that  in  ascend- 
ing the  river  in  their  bateaux,  they  kept  as  near  as  possible 
to  the  north  shore.     Of  the  river  above  he  says  : 

"At  five  leagues  from  Pointe  au  Baril.  [near  the  present 
village  of  Maitland],  is  the  Island  of  Toniata.  The  main 
channel  of  the  river  is  between  this  island  ilnd  the  south 
shore.  The  north  part  of  the  river  is  tilled  with  rushes, 
and  in  summer  is  a  celebrated  eel  fishery. 

"The  Island  of  Toniata*  is  three  leagues  long  by  a  quar- 
ter of  a  league  wide.  At  the  upper  end  is  a  little  passage 
with  but  little  water,  and  full  of  rushes,  which  they  call 
the  Petit  Detroit.  This  is  the  route  that  bateaux  always 
take  in  going  up  to  avoid  the  currents. 

We  should  notice  that  we  ought  to  pay  no  attention  to 
the  little  channels  which  we  meet  among  the  rushes,  and 
which  have  no  outlet  and  would  ground  a  vessel. 

At  the  Petit  Detroit  they  perform  the  ceremony  of  "bap- 
tizing" those  who  have  never  gone  up  the  river  before'-*. 

(1)  Now  known  as  Grenadier,  or  on  some  maps  Barthurat 
Island.  See  the  account  as  given  by  Charlevoix,  on  an- 
other page.  Tiie  signification  of  Toniata,  is  said  to  be 
"Beyond  the  Point."  Note  to  HougJi's  Translation  of  Pou- 
ctwVs  Memoirs,  ii,  110. 

(3)  The  exact  locality  of  this  narrow  passage  may  be 
easily  pointed  out,  as  between  Tar  Island  and  the  Canada 
7 


i 

f 


\\\ 


'id 


, 


J06 


POUCHOT. 


At  a  league  and  a  half  above,  begins  the  Thousand 
Islands,  which  continue  at  least  three  leagues.  These  are 
an  infinite  number  of  little  rocks  covered  with  trees,  with 
channels  quite  large  in  some  places.  In  others,  vessels  in 
passing  through  would  almost  touch  them.  They  are  very 
^  afe,  almost  always  have  a  good  depth  of  water  all  around 
them,  and  there  is  but  a  slight  current. 

At  the  end  of  three  leagires  we  find  larger  islands.  We 
should  take  care  aud  not  go  astray.  In  following  the  bat- 
teaux  channel  nearest  the  north  side,  we  shall  notice  several 
Inlets  ending  in  P\'^irshes  which  are  near  the  shore. 

It  is  necessary  to  turn  very  short  to  enter  the  Bay  of 
Corbeau^,  which  is  large  and  fine.  We  pass  between  the 
south  point,  which  is  ver}'  straight,  and  a  little  island  which 
we  have  to  pass  very  near.  From  thence,  they  coast  along 
the  Isle  au  Citron,  which  is  a  good  league  in  length.  It  is 
fine  and  well  wooded. 

They  make  a  crossing  of  three  leagues  to  reach  the  Isle 
Cochois,  which  is  three  leagues  long,  and  half  a  league 
wide,  abounding  in  game  and  fish.-. 

"The  view  from  the  foot  of  this  island,  with  the  neigh- 
boring islands  and  the  north  shore,  forms  a  prospect  most 
delightful  on  account  of  the  beauty  of  the  channels.  This 
part  api^ears  to  be  very  proper  for  cultivation,  and  good  for 
hunting  and  fishing.  From  thence  to  Froutenac  is  three 
leagues.  We  fiud  the  bay  sufficiently  deep  and  quite  good 
before  coming  to  Montreal  Point,  which  is  the  south  point 
of  the  Bay  of  Catarocoui."^ 


shore.  This  custom  of  niiiking  merry  at  the  cost  of  the 
luckless  novice  at  the  oar,  v.iU  remind  the  reader  of  the 
frolic  which  sailors  have,  on  c'ossing  the  Equator,  with 
those  who  have  never  made  the  passn^e  before.  The  un- 
lucky subject  of  this  ordinance,  in  these  solitudes  of  woods 
and  Avaters,  would  of  course  have  no  remedy,  and  the  only 
satisfaction  he  could  expect,  would  be  in  the  opportunity 
of  assisting  in  the  ccremonj''  himself,  upon  some  new 
comer. 

(1)  Probably  Baumgardt  Bay  of  Owen's  Chart.  It  is  on 
the  north  shore,  about  opposite  the  head  of  Wellesley 
Island 

(2)  This  answers  to  the  description  of  Wellesley  Island, 
more  nearly  than  any  other. 

(3)  PouchoVs  Memoirs,  ii,  p.  109. 


ji 


/.  LONG,   THE  INDIAN  TRADER. 


107 


JOHN   LONG.^ 

This  author,  who  was  a  roving  Indian  Trader,  appears  to 
have  met  some  adventures  worthy  of  notice,  altliougb  not 
immediately  relating  to  the  place  more  particularly  under 
description.  He  stayed  only  a  day  or  two  in  a  place,  bartered 
his  goods  for  peltries  till  the/e  were  no  more  to  buy,  and 
then  pushed  off  to  a  new  field  of  enterprise.  He  stopped 
three  days  at  the  German  Flats  on  the  Mohawk — and  on 
the  14th  of  September,  1784,  arrived  at  the  " Jenesee  Lake, " 
probably  Seneca  Lake  of  the  present  day. 

A  Council  was  called,  and  lie  asked  permission  to  stay 
awhile  and  trade,  They  deliberated,  and  returned  the  fol- 
lowing answer  : 

"You  are  the  Sugar,  for  so  you  are  called  in  our  tongue, 
but  you  must  not  have  too  much  sweetness  on  your  lips. 
All  the  Oneida  Indians  say  they  have  heard  that  you  are 
come  only  under  a  pretence  to  get  our  lands  from  us;  but 
this  must  not  be.  My  young  warriors  will  not  suffer  any 
Englishman  to  settle  here.  You  are  like  the  Great  Chief 
General  Johnson,  who  asked  for  a  spot  of  ground,  or  large 
bed,  to  lie  on ;  and  wht  n  Hendrick,  the  Chief  of  the  Mo- 
hawks, had  granted  his  request,  he  got  possession  of  a  great 
quantity  of  our  hunting  grounds:  and  we  have  reason  to 
think  that  you  intend  to  dream  us  out  of  our  natural  rights. 
We  loved  Sir  William,  and  therefore  consented  to  nil  his  re- 
quests; but  yoii  are  a  stranger,  and  must  not  take  these 
liberties;  therefore,  my  advice  is,  thai  you  depart  lO-mor- 
row,  at  break  of  daj%  or  you  will  be  plundered  by  the  young 
warriors,  and  it  will  not  be  in  our  power  to  redress  you. 

(1)  Voyages  and  Travels  of  an  Indian  Interiweter  and 
Trader,  describing  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  North 
American  Indians,  with  an  account  of  the  Posts  situated  on 
the  River  St.  Lawrence,  Lake  Ontario,  etc.,  etc.,  4"  Lon- 
don, 1791,  pp.  295.  This  work  was  translated  into  French 
and  published  without  the  Indian  vocabularies,  a  short  time 
afterwards. 


i  1 

u 


108 


J.  LONG,  THE  INDIAN  TRADER. 


He  "departed"  for  Fort  Oswego,  which  he  attempted  to 
pass  without  permission ;  but  was  prevented  by  a  sentinel, 
and  his  goods  were  all  seized  and  confiscated. 

In  this  miserable  condition  he  got  across  to  Cataroqui, 
[Kingston]  and  put  up  at  Howell's  tavern.  He  afterwards 
took  up  500  acres  of  land  in  this  region,  on  the  Canada 
side ;  but  not  liking  the  tame  routine  of  farm  life,  he  ob- 
tained another  stock  of  goods,  retired  up  the  Lake,  and 
established  himself  at  Pimitiscotyan  Landing,  on  Lake  On- 
tario. He  had  scarcely  opened  his  premises  for  trade,  be- 
fore an  officer  took  possession  of  everything  he  could  find, 
even  to  the  tent  that  sheltered  him  from  the  weather,  and 
carried  them  down  to  Montreal,  where  everything  was  sold 
for  less  than  a  fourth  part  of  its  cost.  Again  stripped  of 
his  all,  Mr.  Long  retired  to  the  "Bay  of  Kenty,"  and  lived 
ten  months  among  the  friendly  U.  E.  ^  Loyalists.  Early  in 
the  spring  of  1786,  he  crossed  to  Carleton  Island,  and  from 
thence  proceeded  to  Oswego,  intending  to  go  into  the  - 
States  by  post.  Having  no  pass,  he  was  there  stopped ;  but 
returning  eastward,  he  resolved  to  proceed  from  Salmon 
River  through  the  woods  to  Fort  Stanwix.  Having  rested 
a  day,  he  set  out  with  five  jounds  of  pork,  and  two  loaves 
of  bread, with  a  companion,  and  a  faithful  Indian  as  a  guide, 
— but  the  old  path  was  obliterated;  they  suffered  great 
hardships,  and  were  finally  thankful  at  being  able  to  get 
back  to  their  point  of  departure  alive.  From  thence  they 
made  their  way  to  Oswego  along  the  shore,  a  d '.stance  of 
not  over  t^^  enty  miles,  but  they  were  six  day 3  on  the  way. 

(1)  "United  Empire." 


mm 


/.  LONG,   THE  INDIAN  TRADER.  109- 

Towards  the  last,  they  were  entirely  without  food,  except 
wild  onions,  [leeks] ;  but,  fortunately,  they  found  on  the 
sand  about  a  hundred  and  forty  birds'  eggs,  which  they 
boiled  and  eagerly  devoured,  notwithstanding  the  greater 
part  had  young  birds  in  tliem,  with  small  down  on  their 
bodies.  They  were  again  turned  back,  and  advised  to  pro- 
ceed either  to  Niagara  or  3Iontreal,  without  further  at- 
tempting to  run  their  blockade.  He  adopted  the  latter 
alternative. 

At  this  period,  there  were  along  the  north  bank  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  beginning  at  Point  au  Baudet,  and  extending 
to  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Quinte,  about  ten  thousand  in- 
habitants, mostly  Loj^alists  from  the  States,  who  had  been 
driven  out  by  the  Revolution,  and  who  were  truly  faithful 
subjects  of  the  British  Crown.  . 

Cataroqui,  or  Fort  Frontenac,  w^as  in  his  day,  held  by  a 

small  garrison,   and  a  commanding  officer,  who  examined  . 

all  boats  that  passed  either  to  the  new  settlements,  or  the 

upper  posts.     Mr.  Long  gives  some  notes  upon  the  military 

defenses  of  this  Frontier,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Lake, 

after  the  close   of    the  Revolution,    that  have  historical 

interest  : 

"The  first  post  I  shall  notice  is  Oswegatchie,  on  the  River 
St.  Lawrence,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  above 
Montreal,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Black  River ^  wheie  there 
are  about  an  hundred  savages,  who  occasionally  frequent 
it,  and  are  called  Oswegatchie  Indians,  although  they  be- 
long to  the  tribes  of  the  Five  Nations.  To  this  Fort  the 
inhabitants  from  New  England  may  with  ease  transport 

(1)  The  Oswegatchie  River  was  thus  called  on  the  maps 
of  that  period. 


"J 


iif 


m 


■I 


no 


J.  LONG,  THE  INDIAN  TRADER, 


foods  to  supply  the  Mohawks,  Cahnauages,  Connecedagas, 
t.  Regis,  and  some  straggling  Messesawger  Indians,  who 
live  near  the  Detroit,  at  a  smaller  expense  tlian  they  can 
possibly  be  obtained  from  the  merchants  of  Quebec  and 
Montreal,  but  particularlj'  rum — which  has  now  v>ecome  an 
essential  requisite  in  every  transaction  with  the  savages; 
for  though  they  used  formerly  often  to  complain  of  the  in- 
troduction of  strong-water  by  the  Traders,  (as  appears  by 
the  language  of  their  chiefs  in  Council),  to  the  prejudice  of 
their  young  men.  yet  they  have  not  now  the  resolution  to 
refrain  from  the  use  of  it.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  become 
so  familiar,  and  even  necessary  to  them,  that  a  drunken 
frolic  is  looked  upon  as  an  indispensible  requisite  in  a  bar- 
ter, and  anticipated  w  th  extreme  delight. 

"Carleton  Island  is  higher  up  the  river,  and  has  greater 
convf-niences  annexed  to  it  than  Oswegatchie,  ha\ing  an 
excellent  harbor,  with  a  strong  fortification,  well  garri- 
soned. It  affords  excellent  accommodation  for  s  ipping, 
and  may  be  considered  as  the  naval  storehouse  for  supply- 
ing Niagara  and  the  other  posts.  There  are  vessels  of  con- 
siderable bulk  constantly'  sailing  from  thence  to  Niagara, 
Oswego,  etc.  Thtre  is  also  a  Commo.lore  of  the  Lakes, 
whose  residence  is  on  the  Island.  "^ 

The  Commodore  of  the  King's  vessels  on  Lake  Ontario, 
in  1796,as  described  by  Mr.  Weld,  was  a  French  Canadian, as 
were  likewise  most  of  the  officers  under  him.  Their  uni- 
form was  blue  and  w'hite,  with  large  yellow  buttons, 
stamped  with  a  Beaver,  over  which  was  inscribed  the  word 
"Canada."  The  Naval  officers  were  under  the  control  of 
the  Military  Commandant  at  every  post  where  their  vessels 
touched,  and  they  could  not  leave  their  vessels  to  go  up 
into  the  country  at  any  time,  without  his  permission. 

The  Royal  Navy  on  Lake  Ontario  in  1796,  according  to 
Liancourt,  consisted  of  six  vessels,  of  which  two  were  small 
schooners  of  twelve  guns — the  Onondaga  and  the  Mohawk, 

(1)  The  Senior  Naval  Officer  at  Carleton  Island  in  1786-8 
was  David  Becton,  of  the  British  Navy, 


i, ' 


/.  LONG,  THE  INDIAN  TRADER. 


Ill 


(the  latter  just  finished)— a  small  yacht  of  eighty  tons, 
mounting  six  guns — tlie  Missisaga, of  the  same  armament  as 
the  schooners,  and  two  gunboats.  All  of  these  vessels 
were  made  of^green  timber,  and  the  cost  of  the  larger  of 
them  was  four  thousand  guineas.  The  heaviest  item  of 
cost  was  the  iron  work.  The  embezzlement  and  improvi- 
dence with  wiiich  affairs  were  managed,  on  the  part  of 
underlings  in  the  service  was  very  great. 

Mr.  Long  gives  some  sketches  of  Indian  life  as  it  then 
existed  in  this  region,  that  may  be  read  with  interest  : 

"Early  one  winter,  a  newly  married  couple  arrived,  and 
having  given  them  a  little  rum,  they  got  very  merry;  and 
perceivmg  the  woman  was  in  great  humor,  I  desired  her  to 
sing  a  Love  Song,  which  she  consented  to  do  with  cheer- 
fulness. 

TJie  Sorifj. 

''Debiroye,  nee  zargay  ween  aighter,  payshik  oathiy,  seizee- 
hockqv.oii  shcnargut^sey  me  ta)'hirc<»(ich  nepeech  cassaicicka 
nepoo,  moszack penlartiis,  seizeehockquoit  meleek." 

"It  is  true  I  love  him  only  whose  heart  is  like  the  sweet 
sap  that  runs  from  the  sugar-tree,  and  is  brother  to  the 
aspen-leaf,  that  always  lives  and  shivers." 

In  one  of  his  descriptions,  it  would  appear  that  he  tarried 
among  the  Thousand  Islands.  The  description  is  too  ob- 
scure for  us  now  to  locate  the  place — but  the  account  is  as 
follows  : 

"I  Avas  then  left  with  two  white  men,  and  two  Indians 
and  their  wives.  We  passed  our  time  in  hunting  and  fish- 
ing; and  as  there  were  a  great  many  small  islands  Hear  us, 
we  made  frequent  trips  to  shoot  wild  fowl,  which  enabled 
us  to  keep  a  good  table.  On  one  of  the  Islands  we  discov- 
ered two  Indian  huts,  but  from  their  appearance  no  one 
had  visited  them  for  a  length  of  time.  About  half  a  mile 
from  the  place  we  saw  a  high  pole,  daubed  over  with  Ver- 
million paint ;  on  the  top  were  placed  three  human  skulls, 


112 


P.  CAMPBELL. 


\\   i.i 


Isrfi 


and  bones  hung  around.  The  Indians  supposed  it  had 
been  erected  many  years.  About  an  hour  before  sunset, 
we  returned  to  our  wigwams." 

When  he  was  living  on  the  Lake  shore  not  far  from  the 
eastern  end,  he  had  a  large  dog  for  protecting  himself  and 
property.  An  Indian  one  day  came  in,  rather  the  worse 
for  rum,  and  attempted  to  strike  the  dog;  but  the  animal 
instantly  seized  him  by  the  calf  of  the  leg,  and  wounded 
him  dreadfully.  The  Indian  returned  to  his  hut,  and  made 
no  complaint  till  the  next  day,  when,  being  sober,  he  called 
and  desired  to  speak  to  our  Trader.  He  told  the  master 
how  he  had  been  used  by  the  dog,  saying  he  hoped  he 
would  give  him  a  new  pair  of  leggins,  to  supply  those 
which  the  dog  had  torn;  but  that  with  regard  to  his  leg, 
he  did  not  trouble  himself  much  about  that,  as  he  knew  it 
would  soon  be  well.  Wounded  flesh  would  heal — torn 
leather,  never.  The  request  was  granted*,  the  Indian  retired 
with  a  bottle  of  rum  as  a  present,  with  which  he  seemed 
well  pleased,  and  nothing  more  was  heard  of  the  matter. 

p.  CAMPBELL — (1791). 
This  traveler  set  out  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  with 
an  intention  of  exploring  the  interior  of  North  America, 
and  with  an  old  and  faithful  servant,  a  dog  and  a  gun,  he 
trawled  much  in  the  wilderness,  in  birch-bark  canoes,  and 
through  regions  where  comfort  and  safety  were  scarcely  to 
be  looked  for,  and  often  not  enjoyed.  Thus  writing  from 
day  to  day,  in  a  canoe,  or  on  the  stumps  of  trees,  or  by  the 
dim  fire-light  of  a  settler's  cabin,  he  has  given  us  impres- 
sions of  the  country  as  he  saw  it,  that  make  up  in  vivid 


p.  CAMPBELL. 


lis 


description  for  what  he  may  lack  in  style.  He  had  learn- 
ed from  a  British  officer  that  a  lady  was  living  on  his  way, 
whom  he  had  known  when  she  was  a  child,  in  a  poor 
widow's  family  that  he  had  befriended  in  time  of  need, 
and  he  resolved  to  visit  her.      She  had  married  Captain 

Thomas    F ,  and   was  living  not  far  from  the  River. 

We  cannot  describe  the  incident,  which  gives  a  pleasant 
glimpse  of  domestic  life  in  those  days,  better  than  in  his 
own  language: 

"When  I  came  opposite  to  Captain  F 's  house,  which 

was  a  little  way  fro  a  the  road,  my  servant  said  that  was 
the  place  we  had  been  directed  to ;  but  on  my  looking 
about  and  remarking  the  good  house,  but  a  still  larger  barn 
of  two  stories  high,  several  office-houses,  barracks  or  Dutch 
barns,  the  sufficiency  and  regularity  of  the  rails,  and  extent 
of  the  enclosures, — considerable  flocks  of  turkeys,  geese, 
ducks  and  fowls,  I  said  it  could  be  no  Highlander  that 
owned  that  place, — that  the  barracks  or  Dutch  barns  were 
foreign  to  any  Scotchman  whatever;  that  I  had  not  hith- 
erto seen  any  of  them  that  had  such  a  thing;  and  that  he 
must  be  a  German  who  lived  in  that  place.  Still  he  af- 
firmed this  must  be  it,  agreeable  to  the  directions  we  had; 
but  I  could  not  be  persuaded,  and  pushed  on  to  the  next 
house  which  was  then  in  sight.     When  I  came  up,  I  asked 

for  Captain  F 's.  and  was  told  I  had  left  it  behind;  I 

therefore  had  to  return. 

"When  I  came  in,  they  took  no  sort  of  notice  of  me,  fur- 
ther than  desiring  me  to  sit  down.  My' trcwsers  being 
torn  with  the  bushes,  and  the  rest  of  my  dress  being  in  the 
like  situation,  they  supposed  me  to  be  a  Yankee  come  from 
the  States.  After  sitting  awhile  in  this  way,  nobody  speak- 
ing to  me,  or  I  to  them,  as  Mrs.  F happened  to  sit  by 

me,  I  looked  full  in  her  face ;  and  clearly  recognizing  her 
features,  I  accosted  her  in  Gaelic  and  asked  her  if  she  had 
ever  seen  me  before.     She  could  not  say  whether  she  had 

(1)  Travels  is  the  Interior  Inhabited  Parts  of  North  Ameri- 
ca, in  the  Years  1791  and  1793— illustrated  with  copper  plates. 
Edinburgh,  1793,  1  vol.,  octavo. 


:l 


f! 


i 


m 


p.   CAMPBELL. 


or  not.  This  turned  the  eyes  of  everj'body  in  the  house 
toward  us;  but  on  my  asking  if  she  had  heard  of  or  known 
such  a  person,  naming  myself,  she  said  she  did,  and  knew 
him  very  well;  but  could  not  suppose  that  I  was  him.  On 
my  saying  I  was,  she  turned  about  to  her  husband;  'My 
dear,' said  she,  'this  is  the  gentleman  whom  I  often  told 
you  was  so  kind  to  us  when  he  was  Forester  of  Mam-Lorn; 
and  whatever  disputes  we  and  our  neighbors  had  when 
our  cattle  trespassed  upon  the  Forest,  he  always  favored  our 
family.' 

"Captain  F on  tliis  instantly  welcomed  me  to  his 

liouse,    and  ordered  dinner  and  venison  steaks  to  lie  got 

ready  inuuediately.     While  dinner  was  getting,  Mrs  F 

showed  me  nine' or  ten  large,  fat  liogs,  then  lying  dead 
on  the  tloor  of  her  keeping-house,  and  said  they  every 
fall,  killed  twenty  such,  and  two  fat  oxen,  l)esides  other 
provisions  for  their  winter's  store.     After  dinner  Captain 

F treated  me  with  Port  wine  until  we  conid  drhik  no 

more,  and  pressed  me  much  to  stay  that  night ;  but  as  the 
boats  had  passed,  I  could  not  wait.  When  lie  lound  that 
I  would  be  away,  he  ordered  a  couple  of  horses  to  be  sad- 
dled immediatefy.  *  ■  *  *  qpij^i  boats 
arriving,  I  stepped  on  board,  and  the  water  now  becoming 
smooth  and  more  like  a  Lake  than  a  running  stream,  the 
wind  favorable,  we  put  up  sails  and  made  great  waj'  till 
late  at  night,  when  we  put  up  at  a  poor,  lame,  ragged 
man's  house,  with  a  numerous  family  of  small  children; 
but  the  wife  was  buxom  and  well  dressed  I  and  my  Can- 
adian crew  threw  ourselves  down  upon  the  lioor  opposite 
to  the  fire  and  slept  soundlj'  till  four  o'clock  next  morning, 
when  we  got  up  and  se'  off  in  the  usual  way.  The  wind 
still  favored  us,  iind  we  soon  entered  the  Thousand  Islands, 
wdiich  never  were,  nor  do  I  suppose  ever  will  be  counted, 
by  reason  of  their  numbers,  and  for  which  reason  they 
were  former!}'  called  by  the  French,  and  now  by  the  Brit- 
ish the  Mille  IleK.  They  are  of  very  little  value  and  pro- 
duce nothing  but  scraggy  wood  of  useless  pine.  Here  are 
innumerable  flocks  of  water  fowl,  mostly  of  the  Teal  kind. 
Such  a  diversity  of  creeks,  bays,  channels  and  harbors,  I 
suppose  is  rarely  to  be  met  with  in  the  world;  and  if  a  crew 
be  not  well  acquainted  with  the  direct  course,  and  if  they 
once  miss  it,  they  may  chance  to  be  bewildered,  and,  for 
days,  may  not  find  it  again.  After  passing  these  Islands, 
we  entered  upon  the  Jower  end  of  Lake  Ontatio,  and  about 


ni 


p.   CAMPBELL. 


116 


night-fall  arrived  at  Frontinac  or  C'atraquoy,  now   called 
Kingston,  and  put  up  at  the  Coffee  House."  < 

Mr.  Campbell  describes  Kingston  as  a  young  but  prom- 
ising Town,  most  beautifully  located,  aud  already  (withiu 
eight  years  after  the  beginning),  a  place  of  considerable 
trade.  Over  6,000  bushels  of  wheat  had  been  bougiit  up 
and  stored  here  the  year  before,  and  at  least  a  fourth  more 
would  be  purchased  each  succeeding  year.  He  was  told 
that  six  score  of  deer  had  been  sold  in  town  the  same  year, 
and  venison  was  sold  every  day  in  the  market.  He  met 
old  acquaintances  and  formed  new  ones,  and  greatly  ad- 
mired Parson  Stuart's  farm,  and  the  pr  spect  from  Sir 
John  Johnson's  house,  that  commanded  a  fine  view  of  the 
harbor  and  town.  Kingston  was  then  looking  forwj.rd  to 
a  time  that  seemed  near,  when  the  Governor-General  would 
here  fix  his  abode,  and  the  place  would  become  a  great 
emporium  of  trade,  and  the  seat  of  government  of  Canada. 

On  the  24th  of  November,    1791,    :Mr.   Campbelf  took 

passage  on  board  the   sloop    ColvUe,    Captain  Baker,  for 

Niagara.     The  vessel  was  armed  with  two  six-pounders 

and  two  swivels,  and  he  had  as  a  fellow  passenger,  Lieut. 

William  McKay,  a  fellow  countryman,  whom  he  had  met 

in  Kingston.     The  day  was  hazy,  and  the  wind  fair,  but 

promised  no  continuance  at  this  late  period  in  the  year, 

and  just   on  the   verge  of  wintei-.     The  early  part  of  his 

voyage  brings  us  to  a  point  of  especial  interest  : 

"We  passed  several  large,  woody,  uninhabited  islands. 
About  night-fall,  the  wind  changed  to  straight  ahead — the 
Captain,  quite  drunk,  went  to  bed,  the  crew,  little  better, 
went  to  rest,  and  indeed,  were  almost  useless  when  sober, 
as  they  seemed  to  know  scarce  anything  at  all  of  their 


ill 


116 


P.  CAMPBELL. 


business.  No  watch  or  reckoning  was  kept,  and  but  an 
ignorant  wretcli  at  tlie  lielm.  The  wind  increased,  and 
now  became  a  storm.  In  tliis  way,  beating  to  the  ^'ind- 
ward,  the  niglit  dark,  and  surrounded  by  land-slioals  and 
islands,  our  situation  could  not  be  very  agreeable.  None 
of  us  knew  where  we  were,  and  in  fear  of  being  aground 
every  moment.  A  man  was  ordereil  to  sound,  and  once 
sung  out  of  a  sudden,  "live  fathoms."  I  expected  the  next 
moment  to  hear  her  strike.  The  ship  was  put  about,  and 
the  mistake  in  the  sounding  discovered  to  be  owing  to  the 
ignorance  of  the  sailor,  and  the  lines  having  been  entangled 
in  the  rails,  as  at  the  next  sounding,  no  bottom  was  found. 
From  these  circumstances  I  clearly  saw  that  if  we  escaped 
being  wrecked,  it  would  be  a  mere  chance, and  it  appeared 
that  there  was  at  least  live  to  one  against  us.  *  *  But 
drunk  as  this  man  was,  before  he  went  to  bed,  he  ordered 
the  main-sail  to  be  double-rfefed,  and  the  foresail  to  be 
handled, — a  precaution  I  was  very  glad  to  see.  About  mid- 
night a  severe  bla^^t  or  hurricane  was  heard  coming  on. 
The  man  at  the  helm  sung  out,  which  brought  the  Captain 
and  all  the  crew  on  deck,  who  got  all  the  sails  handled, 
and  we  now  went  under  bare  poles;  th  it  done,  he  again 
returned  to  bed,  eternally  bawling  out,  'Oh!  my  poor  Farr- 
ilyT  and  with  the  next  breath,  'Let  us  all  go  to to- 
gether!' Thus  we  continued  till  day-light.  The  surge  ran 
very  high,  but  not  equal  to  that  I  have  seen  on  sea;  and  as 
the  wind  blew  very  fresh  and  hard  against  us,  we  had 
nothiug*for  it  but  to  return  back  and  anchor  at  2  P.  M.  at 
the  head  of  Carleton  island  opposite  to  Kingston;  but  as 
several  large  islands  were  between  us  and  the  town,  they 
could  not  see  us,  or  know  what  had  become  of  us.  The 
25th,  26th  and  27th,  we  lay  here  without  stirring,  the  wind 
continually  ahead  or  calm. 

"On  the  28th  I  went  on  shore  on  Carleton  Island,  where  the 
British  had  a  garrison  last  war.  The  barracks,  drj'^-ditch  and 
rampart  are  still  remaining,  but  in  a  decayed  state.  A  ser- 
geant and  twelve  men  are  kept  here,  to  preserve  the  '  ir- 
racks  from  being  burnt  by  the  Indians,  and  the  Americans 
from  taking  possession  ot  it  and  the  dismounted  guns  there- 
on. The  cause  assigned  for  our  forsaking  this  post  is  said 
to  be,  because  it  is  doubtful  whether  these  islands  be  with- 
in the  British  or  American  lines." 

They  tried  to  get  off  on  the  29th,  but  were  soon  obliged 


.3Hi 


p.  CAMPBELL:— THE  FRENCH  DUKE.       117 


to  return  and  anchor,  and  the  next  day  they  went  hunting 
on  the  New  York  shore.  They  durst  not  venture  far  into  the 
woods,  and  killed  nothing,  but  afterwards  had  better 
luck  upon  some  of  the  islands.  Thus  day  after  day,  for 
ten  days,  they  were  detained  by  adverse  winds,  and  even 
after  getting  well  on  their  voyage,  they  were  enveloped  in 
fogs  of  hoar-frost,  and  so  benumbed  with  cold,  that  it  seem- 
ed almost  necessary  to  turn  about  for  Kingston  and  winter 
there.  The  fog  cleared  up  at  last,  and  they  got  safely  in 
at  Niagara. 

It  being  very  cold,  the  Captain  invited  our  traveller  into 
liis  house  to  warm  him, — and  this  gave  him  an  occassion 
to  note  down  the  following  reflection  in  the  interest  of 
Temperance : 

"I  there  found  a  decent  looking  young  woman,  his  wife, 
with  five  beautiful  children,  of  whom  the  father  seemed 
uncommonly  fond ;  and  though  their  whole  support,  and 
in  a  manner  their  existence,  depended  on  his  life  and  in- 
dustrj%  yet  such  is  his  love  of  grog  that  it  would  seem  he 
would  forsake  them  and  every  other  consideration  in  the 
world  for  its  sake;  at  least,  that  he  would  not  forsake  it 
.,for  them." 

LA  ROCHEFOl  CArLD-LIANCOFRT.  ^—(1795). 

Fran9ois-Alexandre-Frederic  La  Rochefoucauld-Lian- 
court,  a  French  Duke,  and  a  distinguished  philanthroi)ist, 
was  born  in  1747  and  died  in  1837.  A  faithful  adherent  of 
the  unfortunate  Louis  XVI,  he  was  obliged  to  emigrate,  on 
the  approach  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  was  several 
years  in  England  and  America.     He  returned  to  France 

(1)  Voyage  dans  les  Etats-Unis  cV Amerique  fait  en  1795, 
1796  et  1797.  Par  La  Rochefoucauld-Liancourt.  Paris, 
I'an  VII,  de  la  Republique  8  vols. ,  octavo. 


i  I 


"ft 


118 


THE  FRENCH  DUKE. 


'  >i 


I  '. 


f 


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mi 

V 


under  the  Consulate,  and  resumed  the  efforts  he  had  form- 
erly made,  for  the  improvement  of  Agriculture  and  the  In- 
dustries. He  was  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  vaccina- 
tion in  France,  and  took  an  active  part  in  various  measures 
of  education,  benevolence  and  reform,  holding  high  posi 
tions  in  puVlic  and  social  life,  and  scattering  seeds  of 
kindness  with  generous  hand.  He  lived  to  see  the  fruits 
of  many  salutary  measures  that  he  was  active  in  promoting. 
His  son,  Frederick  G.,  who  died  in  1863,  was  distinguished 
for  his  literary  publications.    \ 

The  Duke  after  passing  through  the  country  to  Niagara, 
remained  some  time  in  Upi)er  Canada,  as  the  guest  of 
Lieut.  Gov.  Simcoe,  at  Newark,  then  the  seat  of  Govern- 
ment of  the  Upper  Province.  From  th>'3nce  he  took  pas- 
sage for  Kingston,  on  board  the  Onondaga,  one  of  the 
armed  vessels  belonging  the  British  naval  force  on  Lake 
Ontario.  This  vessel  was  pierced  for  twelve  six-pounders, 
but  carried  only  six.  It  was  employed  in  carrying  freight 
for  the  merchants,  when  the  public  service  allowed.  The 
passage  was  usually  performed  in  thirty-six  hours,  being 
sometimes  ten  or  twelve  hours  less,  or  more,  according  to 
the  wind.  At  Kingston,  he  lioped  to  receive  from  Lord 
Dorchester,  the  Governor-General,  a  pass  allowing  him  to 
proceed  to  Lower  Canada.  He  was  thus  detained  there 
several  days,  and  finally  received  a  letter  absolutely  forbid- 
ding him  from  going  dowm  the  River.  This  made  it  neces 
sary  for  hi.n  to  cross  over  to  Oswego,  and  proceed  from 
thence  by  water  to  New  York.  During  his  sojourn  at 
Kingston,  the  Duke  was  able  to  obtain  much  information 


"t 


THE  FRENCH  DUKE. 


IIU 


about  the  country,  and  his  record  concerning  Carleton  Is- 
land Ih  particularly  explicit.     Of  Kingston,  he  says: 

"  The  barracks  are  built  on  the  .site  of  Fort  Frontenac, 
which  was  built  by  the  French,  and  leveled  by  the  Eng- 
lish. The  latter  built  these  barracks  about  six  years  ago.  ^ 
During  the  American  war  their  troops  were  constantly  in 
motiftn;  mid  in  lafrr  fiiin's  they  were  f/'utrtered  on  an  hlnn'd 
which  ilu  Fiu'tich  citll  hU'  au.r  Chemini.r,  [Goat  Island], 
and  which  (he  EnrjUnh  hare  named  Carleton,  <ifter  Lord  Dor 
Chester.'' 

In  the  conflict  of  interests  for  securing  the  Seat  of  Gov- 
ernment in  Upper  Canada,  Loj-d  Dorchester  preferred 
Kingston,  while  Lieutenant-Governor  Simcoe  insisted 
upon  the  advantages  offered  in  the  country  between  Lakes 
Erie  and  Ontario.  At  the  period  when  the  Duke  visited 
Upper  Canada,  the  C-apital  was  located  at  Newark;  but  the 
Treaty  of  the  previous  year  stipulated  for  the  surrender  of 
the  posts  still  held  by  the  British  on  the  American  shore, 
and  York  or  Toronto  was  soon  after  selected. 

The  trade  of  Kingston  at  this  period,  consisted  chiefly  in 
peltries  from  the  Upper  Lake  country,  and  in  supplies 
brought  up  the  River  from  Montreal.  There  were  then 
three  merchant-ships  on  the  Lake,  that  made  eleven  voyages 
in  a  year.  The  Town  contained  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  or  thirty  houses,  none  more  distinguished  than  the 
rest,  and  the  only  one  conspicuous  was  the  Barracks,  a 
stone  building,  surrounded  by  a  palisade.  All  of  the  houses 
stood  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  bay,  which  stretched  a 
mile  farther  into  the  country,   while  on  the  southern  bank 

(1)  This  fixes  the  date  of  their  erection  in  1789,  the  year 
when  the  garrison  on  Carleton  Island  was  mostly  with- 
drawn. 


!         I 


I  I 


'    Hi 


\  \ 


I     . 


ISO  ISAA^  WELD,  Jr. 

were  the  buildings  belonging  to  the  Navy,  and  the  dwel- 
lings of  those  connected  with  ♦hat  Department.  There  the 
King's  ships  lay  at  anchor,  apart  from  the  port  where  the 
merchant  vessels  landed. 

The  Duke  speaks  kindly  of  the  Rev.  John  Stuart,  curate 
of  Kingston,  a  native  of  Harrisburgh,  Pa.,  who  sided  with 
the  Loyalists  of  the  Revolution,  and  received  a  grant  of 
2,000  acres  near  Kingston,  a  part  of  which — about  70  acres, 
he  cultivated  himself.  Although  decidedly  loyal,  he  was 
still  liberal  in  his  politics — a  man  of  Jiuch  general  infor- 
mation— mild,  open  and  affable, and  universally  respected.  ^ 
There  was  then  but  one  church  in  Kingston,  lately  built, 
and  more  resembling  a  barn  than  a  church. 

ISAAC  WELD,  JR. 

Mr.  Weld  was  an  Irish  gentleman,  who  was  induced  by 
political  troubles  to  leave  Ireland  in  1795,  with  the  view  of 
observing  the  opportunities  for  settlement  which  America 
afforded.  His  "Travels  through  the  States  of  North 
America  and  the  Provinces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada, 
in  1795-96-97,"  were  published  in  quarto  in  1799,  and 
afterwards  in  other  editions  in  English  and  French.  We 
find  in  this  work  an  abundance  of  economical  and  statisti- 
cal facts,  an  ardent  appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  nature, 
and  a  candid  picture  of  social  Institutions  and  domestic 
^'fe,  that  give  it  a  permanent  value  as  a  chronicle  of  the 


(1)  Mr.  Stuart  was  the  last  Episcopal  Missionary  to  the 
Mohawks,  at  Fort  Hunter,  and  settled  at  Kingston  in  1784. 
He  opened  the  first  Academy  at  that  place  in  1 786,  and  died 
there  August  15,  1811,  aged  71  years. 


I! 


Il 


ISAAC  WELD,  Jr.  121 

times  in  which  he  wrote.  This  writer  was  born  in  Dublin 
in  1774,  and  died  in  1856.  He  v/as  fifty-six  years  con- 
nected with  the  Royal  Dublin  Society,  of  which  he  was  for 
a  long  time  a  Vice-President  and  the  Recording  Secretary. 
In  1807,  he  published  "Illustrations  of  the  Scenery  of  Kil- 
larney." 

Mr.  Weld,  as  he  was  leaving  Montreal,  in  September, 
1796,  for  a  joP'  \sy  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  had  as  his  first 
concern  to  provide  a  large  traveling  ten^  and  some  camp 
equipage,  buffalo  skins,  a  store  of  dried  provisions,  kegs 
of  brandy  and  wine,  and,  iu  short,  to  make  every  usual 
and  necessary  preparation  for  the  journey.  Except  for 
about  fifty  miles,  there  were  roads,  and  scattered  settle- 
ments at  no  great  distance  from  each  other,  all  the  way  up 
to  Kingston ;  but  no  one  ever  thought  of  going  by  land,  as 
there  would  be  great  difficulty  in  hiring  horses  and  in  cross- 
ing streams  without  bridges. 

The  bateaux  were  never  laden  until  the  boats  had  been 

got  up  the  Lachine  Rapids.      Three  men  could  take  an 

empty  boat  of  two  tons  up  these  first  rapids,  keeping  as  close 

as  possible  to  the  shore,  and  using  poles,  oars  and  sails,  as 

found  most  advantageous.     It  was  a  very  laborious  task; 

but  from  long  observation,   they  had  been  able  to  find 

places  some  times  half  a  mile  or  in  others  two  or  three 

miles  apart,  where  they  could  take  breath.     Each  of  these 

places  the  boatmen  called  "une pipe,''  because  they  were 

there  allowed  to  fill  their  pipes,  and  this  term  had  come  to 

be  a  sort  of  itinerary  measure,  as,  such  a  place  is  '  'three 

pipes  off."    The  "pipe"  was  about  equal  on  an  average  to 

three-quarters  of  an  English  mile. 
8 


*      'I     J 

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i 


I  I' 


12Z 


ISAAC  WELD,  Jr. 


The  passage  up  the  rapids  was  so  tedious  that  travellers 
often  proceeded  on  foot,  by  the  roads  along  the  north 
shore. 

Coining  up  from  Lower  Canada  in  midsummer,  by  the 
tedious  water  passage,  which  had  then  been  somewhat  re- 
lieved by  canals  and  locks  for  bateaux,  he  noticed,  as  he 
reached  the  level  of  lake  navigation,  enormous  flocks  of 
pigeons,  '  'which  during  pjirticular  years,  come  down  from 
the  northern  regions,  in  flight!:  that  it  is  marvellous  to 
tell  of." 

Besides   these   "pigeon  years,"    they  have  also   "bear 

years"  and  "squirrel  years,"  in  which,  from  abundance  of 

food  or  other  favoring  causes,    they    appear  in  unusual 

abundance.  < 

"The  former,  like  the  pigeons,  come  down  from  the 
northern  regions,  and  were  most  numerous  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  and  along  the  upper 
parts  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence.  On  arriving  at  the  bor- 
ders of  these  Lakes,  or  of  the  River,  if  tht  opposite  shore 
was  in  sight,  tliey  generally  took  to  the  water,  and  endeav- 
ored to  reach  it  by  swimming.  Prodigious  numbers  of 
them  were  killed  in  crossing  the  St.  Lawrence  by  the  In- 
dians, who  had  hunting  encampments  at  short  distances 
from  each  oiher,  the  whole  way  along  the  banks  of  the 
river,  from  the  island  of  St.  Regis  to  Lr.ke  Ontario.  One 
bear  of  very  large  size  boldly  entered  the  river,  in  the  face 
of  our  bateaux,  and  was  killed  by  some  o!  our  men  whilst 
swimming  from  the  main  land  to  one  of  the  islands.  In 
the  woods  it  is  very  rare  that  bears  will  venture  to  attack 
a  man;  but  several  instances  that  had  recently  occurred 
were  mentioned  to  us,  where  they  had  attacked  a  single 
man  in  a  canoe  whilst  swimming;  and  so  very  strong  are 
they  in  water,  that  the  men  thus  set  upon,  being  unarmed, 
narrowly  escaped  with  their  lives. 

This  abundance  of  bears  in  certain  seasons  has  been 
noticed  by  other   travelers.     The  distinguished  German 


f: 


ISAAC  WELD,  Jr. 


123 


traveler  and  geographer  Dr.  J.  G.  Kolii,  whose  descrip- 
tions of  tliis  route  are  elsewhere  quoted,  in  writing  nearly 
sixty  years  afterwards,  (in  1854),  speaks  of  facts  observed 
at  a  place  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Simcoe,  as  follows : 

"The  people  had  killed,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  no  fewer 
than  thirty  bears;  though  the  average  number  was  not  be- 
yond three  or  .our.  I  heard  the  same  account  thrnughout 
this  journey  in  Canada.  I  heard  everywhere  oi  bears 
which  this  summer  had  broken  into  villages,  or  been  killed 
in  the  neighborhood  of  human  dwellings.  It  was  said  that 
so  many  bears  had  never  been  known  to  have  approached 
so  near  to  man  ;  and  that  the  deer,  squirrels,  and  other 
children  of  the  forest,  had  been  equally  numerous,  the 
fields  and  gardens  being  fairly  stormed  by  them.  Wher  I 
enquired  for  the  cause  of  this  fact,  I  could  get  no  satisfac- 
tory solution.  As  the  year  was  some  times  wet  and  some- 
times dry — as  there  was  some  times  a  great  abundance  of 
fish  and  some  times  scarcely  any,  as  they  had  gathered  this 
year  twenty  bushels  of  potatoes,  where  in  general  they  had 
got  only  two;  so  there  were  'bear  years'  and  'squirrel 
years, '  in  which  the  beasts  of  the  wilderness  seemed  to  be 
in  great  commotion.  Many  suggested  the  great  drouth 
that  had  prevailed  this  summer  as  an  explanation.  The 
sun  had  dried  up  tli  e  berries,  nuts,  and  other  wild  plants, 
as  well  as  the  roott?  on  which  the  bears  and  squirrels  fed, 
and  so  compelled  them  to  come  begging  to  man." 

In   a  separate  work  entitled  "^«Yc/«-5''^m ;   Wanderings 

round  Lake   Superior"    Mr.    Kohl    again    remarks    the 

migrations  of  the  bears : 

"  The  bears,  it  appears,  perform  certain  wanderings,  reg- 
ulated by. the  season,  from  north  to  south,  or  from  the  for- 
est-clad districts  to  the  more  open  parts.  In  Spring  and 
Summer,  so  I  was  told,  they  migrate  to  the  south,  where 
a  richer  harvest  of  fruit  and  grain  awaits  them.  In  Autumn, 
however,  they  return  to  the  great  forests,  in  order  to  stow 
themselves  away  for  the  Winter,  in  what  the  English  call 
the  pineries,  the  French,  '  les  hois  forts.'  In  Winter  they 
woidd  positively  starve  on  the  prairies  and  more  open 
plains.  "1 

(1)  The  bears  had  certain  places  for  crossing  rivers,  and 


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The  squirrels  in  1796,  contrary  to  the  bears,  migrated 
from  tlie  soutli,  from  tlie  territory  of  the  United  States. 
Like  the  bears,  tliey  took  to  the  water.  On  arriving  at  it, 
but  as  if  conscious  of  their  inability  to  cross  a  very  large 
piece  of  water,  they  bent  their  course  towards  Niagara 
River,  above  the  Falls,  and  at  its  narrowest  and  most  tran- 
quil part,  crossed  over  into  the  British  territorj'.  It  was 
calculated  that  upwards  of  50,000  of  them  crossed  the  River 
in  two  or  three  days,  and  such  great  depredations  did  they 
commit  on  arriving  at  the  settlements  on  the  opposite  side, 
that  in  one  part  of  the  country  the  farmers  deemed  them- 
selves very  fortunate  where  they  got  in  as  much  as  one- 
third  of  their  crops  of  corn.  These  squirrels  were  all  of 
the  black  kind,  said  to  be  peculiar  to  the  Continent  of 
America.  They  are  in  shape  similar  to  the  common  gray 
squirrel,  and  weigh  from  one  to  two  pounds  and  a  half 
each.  Some  writers  have  asserted  that  these  animals  can- 
not ^'^vim,  but  that  when  they  come  to  the  River,  in  migrat- 
ing, tViCh  one  provides  itself  with  a  piece  of  wood  or  bark, 

this  author  gives  much  information  about  their  habits,  and 
the  methods  employed  by  the  hunters  in  killing  them.  One 
of  these  places  known  as  Passd  a  rO'</'«,  on  the  St.  Croix,  a 
tributary  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  was  particularly  de- 
scribed. The  3'ear  1811  was  a  remarkable  bear-year  in  Up- 
per Michigan,  and  over  six  thousand  bears  were  killed  on 
an  island  and  shore  adjacent,  in  the  course  of  one  season. 
A  hundred  were  sometimes  killed  in  one  night,  and  young 
bears  were  even  taken  out  of  the  water  by  hand. 

The  Indians  of  that  region  almost  regarded  the  bear  as 
endowed  with  human  reason.  They  would  speak  to  them 
as  though  they  could  understand,  and  they  related  stories 
about  the  tricks  and  cheating  of  bears  that  seemed  almost 
incredible. 


ISAAC  WELD,  Jr.  125 

upon  which,  when  a  favorable  time  appears,  they  embark, 
spread  their  bushy  tails  to  catch  tlie  wind,  and  are  thus 
wafted  over  to  the  opposite  side."^ 

This  author  does  not  vouch  for  the  truth  of  this  state- 
ment, but  adds  that  he  had  often  shot  them  while  swinuning. 
They  would  take  eagerly  to  the  water,  and  their  light  and 
bushy  tails  for  the  most  part  floating  on  the  water,  helped 
to  support  the  animal,  and  to  direct  its  course. 

After  noticing  the  excellency  of  the  harbor  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Oswegatchie,  the  capacity  of  the  back  country  for 
navigation,  the  portages,  through  to  the  American  mar- 
kets, and  its  natural  superiority  to  Oswego,  where  the 
mouth  of  the  river  was  obstructed  by  sand-bars,  he  remarks 
that  the  Seneca,  a  British  vessel  of  war,  of  26  guns,  had 
formerly  plied  constantly  between  the  mouth  of  the  Oswe- 
gatchie and  Niagara,  as  also  the  British  fur-ships  engaged 
in  the  remote  Indian  trade.  With  a  fair  wind,  the  passage 
from  Oswegatchie  to  Niagara  could  be  accomplished  in  two 
days — a  voyage  only  one  day  longer  than  from  Oswego. 

There  was  then  an  Indian  village  just  below  the  Oswe- 
gatchie river,  at  a  place  called  La  Galette,  that  numbered 
about  one  hundred  warriors. 

His  description  of  the  voyage  to  Kingston  is  as  follows : 

' '  The  current  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  from  Oswegatchie 
upwards,  is  much  more  gentle  than  in  other  parts  between 
Montreal  and  Lake  Ontario,  except  only  where  the  river 
is  considerbly  dilated  as  at  Lakes  St.  Louis  and  St.  Fran- 

(1)  WelcVs  Travels,  11,  45.  He  remarks  that  these  "squir- 
rel years  "  usually  precede  severe  winters,  and  in  that  case 
observed  this  proved  emphatically  true. 


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ISAAC  WELD,  Jr. 


cos;  ho  .'.ever,  nothwithstanding  its  being  so  gentle,  we 
did  not  advance  more  than  twenty-five  miles  in  the  course 
of  the  day,  owing  to  the  numerous  stops  that  we  made, 
more  from  motives  of  pleasure  than  necessity.  The  even- 
ing was  uncommonly  fine,  and  townrds  sunset  a  brisk  gale 
sprang  up,  the  conductor  judged  it  advisable  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  it  and  to  continue  the  voyage  a'l  ni  ht,  in  order 
to  make  up  for  the  time  we  had  lost  during  the  day. 

"We  accordingly  proceeded,  b'.t  t  )wards  midnight  the 
wind  died  away.  Tliis  circumstance,  however,  did  not  al- 
ter the  determination  of  the  conductor.  The  men  were  or- 
dered to  the  oars,  and  no;w  thstanding  thai  they  had  labor- 
ed hard  during  the  preceding  day  and  had  no  rest,  yet  they 
were  kept  closely  at  work  until  day-break,  except  for  one 
hour,  during  which  they  were  allowed  to  stop  to  cook  their 
provisions. 

"Where  there  is  a  gentle  current,  as  in  this  part  of  the 
river,  the  Canadians  will  work  at  the  oars  for  manv  hours 
without  intermission;  they  seem  to  think  it  no  hardship  to 
be  employed  in  this  instance  the  whole  night ;  on  the  con- 
trary, they  plied  as  vigorously  as  if  they  had  but  just  set 
out,  singing  merrily  the  whole  time.  The  French  Cana- 
dians have  in  general  a  good  ear  for  music,  and  sinx  duets 
with  tolerable  accuracy.  They  have  one  very  favorite  duet 
amongst  them,  called  Uie  "rowing  duet,"  which  as  they 
sing  they  mark  time  to,  with  each  stroke  of  the  oar;  indeed, 
when  rowing  in  smooth  water,  thej"^  mark  the  time  of  most 
of  the  airs  they  sing  in  the  same  manner. 

"About  eight  o'clock  the  next, and  eighth  morning  of  our 
voyage,  we  entered  the  last  lake  before  you  come  to  that  of 
Ontario,  called  The  Lake  of  a  Thousand  Islands,  on  ac- 
count of  the  multiplicity  of  them,  which  it  contains. 

"  Many  of  these  islands  are  scarcely  larger  than  a  bateau, 
and  none  of  them,  except  sucli  as  are  situated  at  the  upper 
and  lower  extremities  of  the  lake,  appearing  to  me  to  con- 
tain more  than  fifteen  English  acres  each.  They  are  all 
covered  with  wood,  even  to  the  very  smallest.  The  trees 
on  these  last  are  smaller  in  their  growth,  but  the  larger 
islands  produce  as  fine  timber  as  will  be  found  on  the 
main  shores  of  the  lake.  Many  of  these  islands  are  situa- 
ted so  closely  together,  that  it  would  be  easy  to  throw  a 
pebble  from  one  to  the  other.  Notwithstanding  which  cir- 
cumstance, the  passage  between  them  is  perfectly  safe  and 
commodious  for  bateaux,  and  between  some  of  them  that 


ii'l 

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ISAAC  WELD,  Jr. 


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are  even  thus  close  to  each  other,  is  water  sufficient  for  a 
frigate.  The  water  is  uucommonly  clear,  as  it  is  in  every 
part  of  the  river  from  Lake  St.  Francis  upwards,  between 
that  lake  and  the  Utawas  River  downwards  it  is  discolored, 
as  I  have  before  observed,  by  passing  over  beds  of  marl. 

"The  shores  of  all  these*  islands  under  our  notice  are 
rocky;  most  of  them  rise  very  boldly,  and  some  exhibit 
perpendicular  masses  of  rocks  towards  the  water,  upwards 
of  twenty  feet  high.  The  scenery  presented  to  view,  in 
sailing  between  these  islands,  is  beautiful  in  the  highest  de- 
gree. Sometimes  in  passing  through  a  narrow  strait,  you 
find  yourself  in  a  basin,  laud-locked  on  even^  side,  that 
happens  to  have  no  communication  with  the  Lake,  except 
by  the  passage  through  which  you  have  entered.  You  are 
looking  about,  perhaps,  for  an  outlet  to  enable  you  to  pro 
ceed,  thinking  at  last  to  see  some  little  channel  which  will 
just  admit  your  bateaux — when  suddenly  an  expanded 
sheet  of  water  opens  upon  you,  whose  boundary  is  the 
horizon  alone.  Again  in  a  few  minutes,  you  find  j^ourself 
land-locked,  and  again  a  spacious  passage  as  suddenly  pre- 
sents itself;  at  other  times,  when  in  the  middle  of  one  of 
these  basins,  between  a  cluster  of  islands,  a  dozen  different 
channels,  like  so  many  noble  rivers,  meet  the  eye,  perhaps 
equallj^  unexpectedly,  and  on  each  side  the  islands  appear 
regularly  retiring  till  they  sink  from  the  sight  in  the  dis- 
tance. 

"  Everj^  minute  during  the  passage  of  this  Lake,  the  pros- 
pect varies.  The  numerous  Indian  hunting  encampments 
on  the  different  islands,  with  the  smoke  of  their  fires  rising 
up  between  the  trees,  added  considerably  to  the  beauty  or 
of  the  scenery  as  we  passed  through  it.  The  Lake  of  a 
Thousand  Islands  is  twenty-five  miles  in  length,  and  about 
six  in  breadth.  From  its  upper  end  to  Kingston,  at  which 
place  we  arrived  earl}'  in  the  evening,  the  distance  is  fifteen 
miles. 

"The  length  of  time  required  to  ascend  the  River  St.  Law- 
rence, from  Montreal  to  Kingston,  is  commonly  found  to 
be  about  seven  days.  If  th  ■  wind  should  be  strong  and 
very  favorable  the  passage  may  be  performed  in  a  less 
time;  but  should  it,  on  the  contrary,  be  adverse,  and  blow 
very  strong,  the  passage  will  be  protracted  somewhat 
longer.  An  adverse,  or  favorable  wind,  however,  seldom 
makes  a  jiifference  of  more  than  three  days  in  the  length 
of  the  passage  upwards,  or  in  each  case  it  is  necessary  to 


III 


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128 


ISAAC  iVELB,  Jr. 


;ii 


work  the  bateaux  along  by  means  of  poles,  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  way.  The  passage  downward  is  performed  in 
two  or  three  days,  according  to  the  wind.  The  current  is 
so  strong,  that  a  contrary  wind  seldom  lengthens  the  pas- 
sage in  that  direction  more  than  a  day." 

Kingston,  as  seen  by  Mr.  Weld,  just  before  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century,  contained  a  fort,  barracks  for 
troops,  an  Episcopal  church,  and  about  a  hundred  houses, 
mostly  inhabited  by  persons  who  had  emigrated  from  the 
United  States  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  Some 
of  the  houses  were  of  stone  or  brick,  but  for  the  most  part 
they  were  of  wood. 

From  sixty  to  one  hundred  soldiers  were  usually  quar- 
tered in  the  garrison.  The  Town  had  a  considerable 
amount  of  trade,  and  was  growing  rapidly  in  size,  the 
goods  and  peltries  of  traders  being  here  transferred  from 
bateaux  to  vessels.  The  principal  merchants  were  mostly 
partners  of  old-established  houses  in  Montreal  and  Quebec, 
and  the  stranger,  especially  if  a  British  subject,  was  sure 
to  meet  a  most  hospitable  and  friendly  reception  among 
them, 

Kingston  was  then  the  principal  station  for  shipbuilding 
on  the  Lakes,  and  at  that  period,  several  decked  merchant 
vessels,  schooners,  and  sloops,  of  from  50  to  300  tons  each, 
and  numberless  large  sailing  bateaux,  were  kept  employed 
on  Lake  Ontario.  There  were  then  no  vessels  larger  than 
bateaux  owned  on  the  south  side  of  the  Lake,  and  the  Brit- 
ish vessels  that  plied  between  Kingston  and  Niagara, rarely 
touched  at  any  other  place. 

The  heaviest  item  of  ship-building  at  that  period  was 


J.  a  OODEN. 


1X9 


iron,  which  came  from  England,  but  great  hopes  were 
founded  upon  the  copper  of  the  Lake  Superior  country, 
which  was  then  known  to  exist,  but  had  not  yet  been 
worked  to  much  extent. 

The  established  rate  of  passage  across  the  Lake  was  then 
two  guineas  in  the  cabin,  and  one  guinea  in  the  steerage, 
including  board.  Freight  was  36  shillings  Sterling  per 
ton,  or  nearly  as  much  as  then  charged  across  the  Atlantic. 

JOHN  C.   OGDEN.— (1799.) 

This  writer,  who  visited  Canada  near  the  close  of  the 
last  Century,  is  nowhere  explicit  in  dates,  but  the  facts 
that  he  records  afford  an  interesting  view  of  the  condition 
of  the  country  as  lie  observed  it.  ^  The  church  at  St.  Regis 
had  just  been  built,  and  he  speaks  of  it  as  a  most  distin- 
guished object,  inferior  to  few  in  size,  and  built  by  the  In- 
dians themselves,  with  a  small  assistance  from  the  clergy, 
and  some  gentlemen  of  rank  and  fortune.  Men,  women 
and  children  had  assisted  the  masons  and  carpenters,  in 
procuring  timber,  stone  and  lime,  and  in  every  possible 
part  of  the  labor.  In  speaking  of  the  navigation  and  the 
river  scenery,  he  says  : 

"A  water  voyage  through  these  Provinces  from  Kingston 
to  Montreal,  is  enchanting  and  entertaining — cheap  and 
expeditious,  while  much  delay  and  many  impediments  put 
the  patience  to  the  proof,  in  attempts  to  pass  into  the  coun- 
try against  the  stream.  New  objects  present  every  mo- 
ment to  draw  the  attention.  The  river — the  broader  waters 
of  the  Lake  of  St  Francis — the  rapids  and  islands,  are 
full  of  novelty. 


I  IM 


(1)  A  Tour  Through  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  by  John 
C.  Ogden,  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  Wilmington,  1800. 


^ 


[ 


180       J.  C.  OODEN.—MISS  P.   WAKEFIELD. 

"Among  tlio  first  which  attract  notice,  is  a  cluster  called 
the  Thousand  Islands,  where  at  least  that  number  are  col- 
lected together,  not  far  from  Lake  Ontario,  of  various 
forms  and  sizes.  Sometimes  they  are  exhihited  in  a  regu- 
lar line,  and  then  surround  us,  where  to  a  stranger,  no  cer- 
tain outlet  appears.  Tiiese  islands  are  not  inhabited  except 
by  birds  and  wild  animals.  Fish  are  taken  in  abundance 
in  most  of  the  northern  waters." 


PRISCILLA    WAKEFIELD. 

This  lady,  author  of  "Juvenile  Traveller,"  "Family 
Tour,"  etc.,  in  a  small  volume  printed  in  1806,  under  the 
guise  of  "Letters  from  Arthur  Middleton,"  gives  a  series 
of  sketches,  not  claimed  as  from  her  personal  obser- 
vation. 1 

"In  ascending  the  St.  Lawrence — having  passed  the  last 
rapid  below  the  mouth  of  the  Oswegatchie,  the  most  con- 
siderable of  those  rivers  within  the  territory  that  falls  into 
the  St.  Lawrence,  the  current  becoming  gentle,  we 
entered  the  Lake  of  a  Thousand  Islands.  The  multiplicity 
of  small  islets  that  cover  its  surface  give  it  this  name.  They 
vary  in  size,  from  several  miles  around  to  a  spot  not  bigger 
than  our  boat.  All  of  them  are  covered  with  wood ;  and 
many  of  them  are  guarded  by  rocks  and  crags  of  fantastic 
shapes,  that  rise  to  a  considerable  height  above  the  water. 
Nothing  could  describe  the  beauty  and  variety  of  prospects 
this  Lake  affords.  In  some  parts,  our  bateau  seemed  to 
be  hemmed  in  by  islands,  whose  rich  foliage  hung  over  the 
water.  Between  the  trees  were  the  hunting  encampments 
of  the  Indians,  when,  on  a  sudden,  a  narrow  passage  led 
us  into  the  open  Lake.  After  enjoying  these  ever-changing 
views,  we  were  lauded  at  Kingston,  a  garrisoned  town  of 
great  trade,  situated  at  the  mouth  of  a  deep  bay,  at  the 
north-eastern  extremitj^  of  Lake  Ontario." 

(1)  Excursions  in  North  America,  described  in  Letters  from 
a  Gentleman  and  his  Young  Companion,  to  their  Friends  in 
England.  By  Priscilla  Wakefield,  London.  12  mo.  1806, 
p.  420. 


O.  UERIOT.—C.  ROGER. 


ISl 


OEOROE   IIERIOT. — (1807). 

Mr.  Heriot  was  Postmaster  of  British  North  America 
and  the  author  of  "Descriptive  Poem,  written  in  the  West 
Indies,"  (4to  1781)— "History  of  Cauada,"  (8vo  1809.)  and 
"Travels  Through  Canada."  (4to  1807.)  The  pul)licatiou 
from  which  we  quoted  is  an  elaborate  and  profusely  illus- 
trated work,  and  very  full  of  information  concerning  the 
British  Provinces,  but  its  description  of  the  Islands  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  is  brief.  He  simply  remarks  that  the  Great 
River,  for  an  extent  of  several  miles,  from  Kingston,  as  far 
down  as  Augusta,  is  interspersed  by  a  multitude  of  isles, 
as  it  spreads  itself  to  a  width,  in  some  places,  of  ten  or 
twelve  miles,  where  this  part  has  acquired  the  name  of  the 
Lake  of  the  Thousand  Islands,  which  he  regarded  as  only 
a  prolongation  of  Lake  Ontario. 

CHARLES  ROGER. — (Referring  to  1813.) 

This  Canadian  writer,  -  in  describing  the  navigation  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  in  1813,  represents  it  as  chiefly  accom- 
plished in  a  kind  of  flat-bottomed  boat,  of  from  thirty-five 
to  forty  feet  in  length  and  about  six  feet  wide  in  the  mid- 
dle, carrying  from  four  to  four  and  a  half  tons,  and  occu- 
pying from  ten  to  twelve  days  in  going  from  Lachine  to 
Kingston.  The  boat  was  worked  by  oars,  a  mast  and  sail, 
drag-ropes  for  towing,   and  long   poles  for  pushing  them 

(1)  Travels  Througk  the  Canadan,  containing  a  Description 
of  the  Picturesque  Hcenery  on  some  of  the  Ricers  and  Lakes, 
etc.    London,  1807. 

(2)  The  Rise  of  Canada  from  Barbarism  to  Wealth  and 
Civilization,  by  Cliarles  Roger,  Quebec,  1856. 


f 


I 


ISS 


C.  ROOER— LIEUT.  F.  HALL. 


through  the  Rapids,  while  the  bow  was  kept  towards  the 
shore  by  a  tow-line  held  by  the  boat's  crew,  or  attached  to 
horses. 

"To  convey  stores  from  Lachine  to  Kingston  during  the 
war,  required  some  tact.  On  one  side  were  the  British 
batteries,  while  exactly  opposite  was  an  American  fort  or 
earthwork,  which,  as  the  bateaux  poled  past  Prescott  or 
Brockville,  could  throw  around  shot  or  two  in  their  imme- 
diate vicinity  without  very  much  trouble. 

"Indeed  the  Americans  did  very  (quietly  send  one  or  two 
cruisers  and  privateers  to  dodge  about  that  Marine  para- 
dise, the  Thousand  Islands,  formini;  the  delta  of  Lake  On- 
tario, and  covered  to  this  day  with  timber  to  the  water's 
edge — islands  of  all  sizes  and  of  all  forms,  gently  rising  out 
of  the  limped  rippling  stream,  or  boldly  standing  forth 
from  the  deep  blue  water,  presenting  a  rugged,  rocky  moss- 
clad  front  to  the  wonder-struck  beholder. 

LIEUT.  FRANCOIS  HALL.— (1816.) 

This  traveler  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  from  Brockville 

to  Kingston  by  bateau,  having  preferred  a  stage  wagon  to 

a  bateau  in  the  most  of  the  previous   part  of  his  journey 

from  Montreal.     We  begin  his  quotation  at  about  this 

point  :i 

"  I  found  the  accommodation  at  Prescott  so  hard,  that  I 
seated  myself  at  midnight  in  a  light  wagon  in  which  two 
gentlemen  were  going  to  Brockville,  and  was  thus  so  far 
jumbled  into  their  acquaintance,  that  they  politely  offered 
me  a  passage  to  Kingston,  in  a  boat  belonging  to  the  Navy, 
which  was  waiting  for  them  at  Brockville. 

"  I  am  always  unlucky  on  the  water,  wiiether  it  be  in 
crossing  the  ocean,  or  a  duck-pond.  The  wind  proved 
contrary,  and  our  boat  pulled  slowly  against  the  current; 
it  was,  however,  not  so  bad  as  the  bateau  voyage.     I  had 

(1)  Travels  ill  Canada  and  the  United  States,  in  1816  and 
1817.  By  Lieut.  Francis  Hall,  17th  Light  Dragoon,  H.  P. 
Lawson,  2d  Ed.  1819. 


LIEUT.  F.  IIALL.—  WM.  DARBY. 


1S3 


the  advantage  of  agreeable  company,  and  a  good  provision- 
basket,  the  contents  of  which  were  spread,  towards  noon, 
on  a  granite  table,  near  the  shore ;  a  kettle  was  boiled  at  an 
adjacent  cottage,  and  an  excellent  breakfast  arranged, 
'  sub  tegmme  fagi. '  Occasionly  repetitions  of  the  cerenionv 
tended  evidently  to  relieve  the  tedium  of  the  journey,  wliich 
lusted  till  the  evening  of  the  day  after  our  embarkation. 

"The  river  banks,  from  the  neighborhood  of  Brockville 
are  of  limestone,  from  20  to  50  feet  in  height,  and  evident- 
ly grooved  or  hollowed  l)y  the  tides  of  former  ages.  Im- 
mense masses  of  reddish  granite  are  scattered  along  the  bed 
of  the  stream,  and  sometimes  project  bare  and  bold  from 
the  shore.  On  two  of  these  projections,  there  is  a  block- 
house, forming  a  prominent  object  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. The  Islands  wiiich  crowd  the  approach  to  Lake 
Ontario,  called  from  their  number  the  Thousand  Islands, 
have  all  a  granite  basis,  but  are  clothed  with  cedar,  pine, 
and  abundance  of  raspb(!rries ;  the  bed  of  the  Gananoque 
is  also  of  granite,  and  the  lofty  banks  of  the  1\  ingston  river, 
near  the  Mills,  are  of  the  same  rock.  *  #  * 

The  Gananoque  is  rising  into  importance,  frori  je  circum- 
stance of  a  new  settlement  being  formed  unde  e  auspices 
of  the  Government,  on  the  waters  with  which  ic  communi- 
cates. This  settlement  lies  on  the  head  lakes  of  the  Rideau, 
and  is  meant  to  secure  a  communication  betwixt  3Iontreal 
and  Kingston  by  way  of  the  Uttawa,  in  case  of  another 
war.  The  settlers  are  chiefly  disbanded  soldiers,  who 
clear  and  cultivate  the  land,  under  the  superintendence 
of  the  Quartermaster-General's  Department.  Each  man 
draws  rations  for  himself  and  family,  the  expense  of  which 
is  about  five  shillings  per  ration,  so  that  it  may  be  justly 
called  a  hot-house  settlement." 


\ 


^\{ 


WILLIAM  DARBY. — (1818). 

Mr.  Darby  was  one  of  the  surveyors  on  the  Boundary 
Commission,  and  the  author  of  many  geographical  and 
statistical  works.  He  died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Oct.  9, 
1854.  In  describing  the  Islands,  he  remarks  that  those 
first  met  with  in  going  down  are  low  and  flat,  but  that  the 
Thousand  Islands  themselves  seem  to  be  a  gigantic  chain 


13!^ 


WM.  DARBY.— J.  M.  DUNCAN. 


I 


which  crosses  tlie  River,  and  divides  it  into  a  maze,  intri- 

cate  beyond    imagination,    and  presenting  a  scene  more 

savage,  rude  and  wild,  than  exists  perhaps  any  where  else 

upon  earth. 

"The  placid  and  most  purely  limpid  water,  reflects  the 
broken  rocks,  and  the  few  trees  and  shoals  that  nse  amid 
their  fractured  ruins.  No  human  habitation  appears  to 
enliven  for  an  instant  this  picture  of  eternal  waSte.  Pass- 
ing this  region  of  silent  desolation,  a  fairy  scene  opens;  a 
scene  that  to  me  was  the  more  delightful,  because  unex- 
pected Where  the  Thousand  Islands  terminate,  the  River 
opens  first  into  a  kind  of  bay,  and  then  in  two  or  three 
miles  again  contracts ;  the  shore  rising  on  each  bank  by  a 
gentle  acclivity  presents  a  country  I  have  never  before  seen 
equaled,  in  respect  either  to  soil  or  situation." 

JOHN   M.    DUNCAN. — (1819). 

In  a  Journal  of  Travels,  in  1818-19,  this  writer  descended 

the  St.  Lawrence,  and  r?corded  his  observntions.  ^ 

"Another  day  or  two  might  have  been  agreeably  spent 
here,  [at  Kingston,]  but  Octo^*^>*  was  closing  upon  me,  and 
I  feared  that  frost  might  set  in,  *vhich  would  make  travel- 
ing both  difficult  and  disagreeable.  It  was,  therefore,  with 
pleasure  that  I  learned  that  some  bateaux  were  to  go  down 
the  river  the  following  morning,  and  I  did  not  fail  to  be  at 
the  water  side  in  time  to  secure  a  passage  by  them.  *  *  * 
The  Durham  Boats  of  the  St.  Lawrence  are  similar  to  those 
on  the  Mohawk.  In  smooth  water  they  use  a  sail  or  oars, 
but  are  forced  up  the  rapids  by  incessant  and  laborious 
exertions  with  the  pole.  They  are  generally  navigated  by 
natives  of  the  United  States.  The  one  in  which  I  sailed  in 
May,  was  according  to  the  information  of  the  Captain,  62 
feet  in  keel,  and  li  feet  4  inches  in  beam.  She  carried 
about  26  tons,  and  drew  only  28  inches  of  water.  She  had 
on  board  about  270  barrels  of  flour,  which  sunk  her  gun- 
wale within  a  few  inches  of  the  water;  and  to  defend  us  in 

(1)  Travels  throngh  j)art  of  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
in  1818  and  1819;  New  York  and  New  Haven,  1823.  Mr. 
Duncan  died  in  Glasgow,  Oct.  3,  1825,  at  the  age  of  31. 


J.  M.  DUNCAN. 


135 


passing  through  the  rapids,  a  couple  of  stout  phxnks,  about 
a  foot  in  breadth,  were  nailctl  along  the  sides;  a  precaution 
which,  as  we  afterwards  experienced,  was  no  more  than 
needful. 

"Bateaux  are  flat-bottomed  boats,  about  half  the  size  of 
the  others,  tapering  to  a  point  at  each  end,  and  so  substan- 
tially constructed  that  they  will  endure  a  great  deal  of  hard 
knocking  on  the  channel  without  danger  to  the  passengers. 
They  do  not  sink  so  low  in  the  water  as  the  boats  navigated 
by  Canadian  Toyageurs, — veterans  who  have  been  trained 
from  their  j^outh  to  the  use  of  the  paddle  and  the  setting 
pole,  and  who  know  every  channel,  rock,  and  breaker,  in 
the  rapids,  from  the  Long  Sault  to  Montreal.     If  a  traveler 


let  him  by  all  means 
as  fast  as  a  Durham 
making  the  passage, 


doing  down  the  River  has  his  choice, 
prefer  the  bateaux ;   it  does  not  sail 
boat,  and  he  may  be  a  day  longer  in 
but  in  ordinary  cases  he  is  far  safer. 

"Passengers  by  either  of  these  vessels  must  take  with  them 
a  moderate  supply  of  provisions,  for  it  is  not  customary 
to  go  01  shore  except  to  sleep;  and  if  the  wind  is 
ahead,  four  or  five  days  may  be  spent  between  Kingston 
and  Montrea..  Going  up  the  river  is  a  far  more  tedious 
process.  They  should  also  be  well  provided,  even  in  sum- 
mer, wuth  cloaks  or  other  coverings,  for  the  night  dews 
on  the  rivers  are  excessively  cold. 

' '  The  bateaux  sailed  from  Kingston  with  a  favorable 
breeze,  between  ten  and  eleven  in  the  forenoon,  and  while 
the  wind  lasted  got  on  gallantly;  but  towards  the  afternoon 
we  were  almost  becalmed  in  the  Lake  of  a  Thousand  Isles, 
and  our  vpyageurs  were  compelled  to  tug  away  at  the  oar. 
We  had  four  rowers,  besides  the  coududeur,  who  steered 
with  a  small  paddle.  The  scenery  of  this  Lake,  as  it  is 
called,  is  very  picturesque,  but  the  succession  of  islands 
becomes  at  last  tiresome,  the  more  so  that  you  find  tliem 
take  the  wind  out  of  the  sail,  and  w^ofully  retard  your 
progress.  I  had  mude  allowance  for  a  reasonable  propor- 
tion of  exaggeration  in  its  poetical  name,  but  the  Islands 
crowded  upon  each  other  in  such  numerous  groups,  and 
we  were  so  long  in  getting  clear  of  them,  that  I  began  at 
last  to  doul)t  whether  there  might  not  be  two  thousand  of 
them  instead  of  one. 

"They  are  of  all  sizes;  some  of  them  bare  rocks,  a  few 
feet  square,  others  two  or  three  miles  long,  and  thickly 


■n 


136 


J.  M.  DUNCAN. 


I 


K'-A'. 


wooded.  Loch  Lomond,  wHIi  her  two  dozen  islets,  has 
long  sheltered  the  manufacturers  of  the  genuine  peat  reek 
from  the  scent  of  the  Revenue  officers ;  but  this  must  be  the 
very  paradise  of  smugglers,  i^hould  such  a  trade  ever  be- 
come profitable  in  Upper  Canada — and  a  hopeless  business 
it  will  be  for  the  excise  men  who  are  sent  to  ferret  them 
out. 

"  Towards  evening  it  began  to  rain ;  but  some  of  the  com- 
pany on  board  were  more  disagi-eeable  than  the  weather. 
*  *  *  *  But  for  their  presence,  I  could  have  endured 
the  rain  for  an  hour  or  tv/o,  to  listen  to  the  boat  scngs  of 
the  Canadian  xoyageurs,  which  in  the  stillness  of  the  night 
had  a  peculiar  pleasing  effect.  They  kept  time  to  these 
songs  as  they  rowed ;  and  the  splashing  of  the  oars  in  the 
water,  combined  with  the  wildness  of  their  cadence,  gave 
a  romantic  character  to  our  darksome  voyage. 

* '  In  most  of  the  songs,  two  of  the  boatmen  began  the  air, 
the  other  two  sang  a  response,  and  then  a^l  united  in  the 
chorus.  Their  music  might  not  have  bei-n  thought  ex- 
tremely fine,  by  those  whose  skill  in  concords  and  chro- 
matics forbids  them  to  be  gratified  but  on  scientific  princi- 
ples. My  convenient  ignorance  of  these  rules  allowed  me 
to  reap  undisturbed  enjojnnent  from  the  voyageurs'  melo- 
dies, which  like  many  upon  Scotch  airs,  were  singularly 
plaintive  and  pleasing. 

"Our  conducteur  expected  to  have  reached  Brockville  that 
evening,  a  small  town  about  50  miles  below  Kingston,  but 
we  began  to  oe  somewhat  impatient  to  get  on  shore.  The 
evening  was  so  dark,  that  we  could  with  difficulty  distin- 
guish even  the  shadowy  outline  of  the  river;  not  a  sound 
was  heard  around  us  but  the  echo  of  the  voices  of  those  on 
board,  or  the  plash  of  the  oars ;  and  we  were  gliding  along 
with  no  other  convictions  of  safety  than  what  arose  in  firm 
confidence  in  our  boatmen.  About  eight  o'clock  a  twink- 
ling light  by  the  river's  side  broke  upon  our  view^ ;  we 
hailed  the  cheering  spark,  and  urged  the  conducteur  to 
haul  in  to  the  bank,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  lodgings.  It 
was  a  farmer's  house ;  a  crackling  fire  of  pine  logs  blazed 
on  the  ample  hearth,  festoons  of  sliced  apples  for  winter 
pies,  hung  round  it  to  dry,  and  the  comfortable  kitchen 
contrasted  most  agreeablj'  with  our  situation  in  the  bateau 
in  darkness  and  rain.  The  inmates  made  us  welcome  to 
their  fire-side,  and  although  not  much  used  to  entertain 


1^ 


W.  T.  HARRIS. 


1S7 


strangers,  very  soon  provided  for  us  a  most  comfortable 
supper.  Hot  steaks,,  fried  bacon  and  potatoes  for  those 
wlio  preferred  it,  tea  and  toast,  were  served  up  with  an 
alacrity  that  would  have  done  credit  to  a  regular  inn.  It 
scarcely  needs  to  be  added,  that  we  enacted  wonders  with 
the  knife  and  fork.  When  the  time  of  retiring  came,  every 
bed  in  the  house  was  surrendered  for  our  use;  bat  fiuding 
that  I  could  not  participate  in  one,  unless  I  accepted  a  bed- 
fellow, I  preferred  my  box-coat  and  the  floor. 

About  two  o'clock  next  morning,  we  were  aroused  to  re- 
sume our  voyage.  The  boatmen  before  starting  swallowed 
a  plentiful  allowance  of  soup  thickened  with  meat  and 
bread,  very  similar  to  what  sailors  call  lobscoss  ;  the  players 
fortified  themselves  for  the  water  by  an  antiphogmatic  of 
r'lm. 

The  wind  had  shifted  during  the  night,  and  was  now 
right  ahead.  It  was  a  genuine  American  North-wester, 
and  blew  as  if  it  were  resolved  to  take  the  skin  off  our 
cheeks.  The  water  froze  upon  the  oars,  as  they  rose  above 
the  surface;  and  I  never  appreciated  better  the  comforts  of 
a  thick  traveling  coat,  and  a  fur  cap.  Our  boatmen  had  to 
row  without  intermission;  and  although  they  did  not  al- 
ways pull  very  hard,  they  tugged  away  with  amazing  con- 
stancy. About  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  we  reached 
Prescott,  sixtv  deven  miles  from  Kingston." 

WILLIAM   TELL     HARRIS. — (1819). 

This  English  gentleman  travelled  with  the  view  of  leai  n- 

ing  facts  useful  to  emigrants,  and  came  from  Niagara  to 

Kingston  on  the  Steamer  Fi'omenac.  ^     He  there  changed  it 

to  the  Charlotte,  which  set  out  about  day-break.     He  was 

awakened  by  the  discharge  of  a  swivel  on  the  bows,  the 

signal  employed  to  call  out  the  passengers  to  witness  the 

scenery  of  the  Islands.     He  says  : 

"In  descending  the  Ohio,  the  eye  was  charmed  by  the 
rich  luxuriance  with  which  both  Nature  and  Industry  had 

(1)    Remarks  made  during  a  Tour  through  the    United 
States  of  America  in  1817-18-19;  London,  1821. 
9 


(Iff 


*i;;^^;Mf--w5Hii^.^  ■;  y-y;  .^- 


I 


f 

J  ii 


1S8 


F.   r.  HARRm.—J.  HOWISON. 


adorned  its  sloping  banks  and  numerous  islands,  and  in  the 
thought  that  here  is  fulfilling  that  promise  '  'on  earth  peace, 
good  will  towards  men."  Here  the  waters  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence are  divided  into  numerous  channels  by  islands  and 
large  rocks;  some  bare,  some  where  the  cedar  and  the  pine 
rear  their  spiral  heads,  while  others  assume  the  castellated 
form,  and,  partially  covered  with  moss,  invite  fancy  to  the 
ancient  legends  of  holy  and  of  haunted  ground.  A  block- 
house here  and  there  upon  some  of  them,  assisting  in  the 
delusion, 


works  sublime 


To  human  art  a  sportive  semblance  bore, 
And  yellow  lichens  coloured  all  the  clime, 

Like  moonlight  battlements,  and  towers  decayed  by  time." 

"They  are  known  by  the  name  of  the  Thousand  Islands, 
though  nearly  double  that  in  number;  some  few  of  them 
are  from  four  to  five  miles  in  extent,  and  in  a  state  3f  im- 
provement, but  the  greater  number  are  mere  rocks. 

"At  Brockville,  a  pretty  village  on  the  Canadiaii  bank, 
about  sixty  miles  below  Kingston,  the  river  widens,  or 
rather  is  not  so  incommoded  by  islands  as  before,  and  con- 
tinues clear  of  any  impediment  to  Prescott  or  Fort  Wel- 
lington, where  it  is  a  mile  and  a  quarter  wide."^ 

JOHN    HOWISON. — (1820.) 

This  author  was  two  years  and  a  half  in  Upper  Canada, 
and  in  this  time;  resided  in  various  parts  of  the  Province, 
where  he  enjoyed  numerous  opportunities  for  inspecting 
the  new  settlements. 

On  the  occasion  described,  he  had  come  from  below  by 
land  carriage  as  far  as  Brockville,  but  having  had  a  hard 
experience  in  that  mode  of  travelling,  he  determined  to 
proceed  from  thence  to  Kingston  by  water.     He  says  :^ 

(1)  The  width  of  the  river  at  Prescott  is  about  1,600 
yards,  or  4,800  feet. 

(1)  Sketches  of  Upper  Canada,  Domestic,  Local  and  Char- 
acteristic; to  which  are  added  Practical  Details  far  the  Infor- 
mation of  Emigrants  of  every  Class;  and  some  Recollections  of 
the  United  States  of  America.  Edinburgh  and  London, 
1821. 


J.  UOWISON. 


1S9 


1,600 


"  I  accordingly  secured  a  passage  in  a  bateau,  and  in  the 
evening,  after  it  got  dark,  I  strolled  to  the  side  of  the  river, 
that  I  might  ascertain  whether  or  not  my  baggage  was 
safely  put  on  board ;  and  there  I  found  the  crew  carousing, 
after  the  fatigues  of  the  day.  They  had  kindled  a  fire  upon 
the  beach,  and  were  making  ready  supper.  Some  reclined 
around  the  tire,  talking  barbarous  French,  and  uttering  the 
most  horrid  oaths;  others  sat  in  the  boats,  and  sun^  Trou- 
badour songs ;  and  a  third  party  was  engaged  in  distributing 
the  provisions.  They  resembled  a  band  of  freebooters. 
Most  of  them  were  very  athletic,  and  liad  the  sharp  physi- 
ogomy  and  sparkling  eyes  of  a  Canadian.  The  red  glare 
01  the  fire  communicated  additional  animation  to  their  rude 
features;  and  their  bushj'^  black  beards  and  discordant 
voices  rendered  them  rather  a  formidable  looking  set  of 
people. 

"Early  in  the  morning,  I  found  the  boatmen  preparing  to 
leave  port.  There  were  five  bateaux,  and  this  number  con- 
stitutes a  brigade.  The  crew  of  each  boat  consists  of  five 
rowers,  and  a  man  with  a  paddle  to  steer ;  and  the  whole 
equipment  was  under  the  command  and  superintendence 
of  an  individual  who  was  styled  the  conducteur. 

"  The  freshness  of  the  morning  breeze  was  rendered  truly 
delightful  by  the  odor  proceeding  from  young  pine  trees, 
which  grew  in  profusion  on  each  side  of  the  river;  and  as 
the  sun  arose,  every  little  gale  that  shook  the  dew-drops 
from  their  branches  seemed  to  scatter  a  thou'^and  gems 
upon  the  bosom  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  noise  of  the 
oars  sometimes  started  the  deer  which  were  browsing  along 
the  bank,  and  I  occasionally  saw  them  thrust  their  beauti- 
ful heads  through  the  brauches,  and  then  suddenly  start 
away  into  tlie  recesses  of  the  forest. 

"The  water  of  the  river  is  exquisitely  pure  and  transpar- 
ent, and  when  it  sparkles  round  the  oars,  one  is  almost  in- 
duced to  drink  it,  whether  he  feels  thirsty  or  not.       *       * 

"After  rowing  nearly  two  hours,  we  landed  upon  a  small 
island,  and  the  boatmen  began  to  make  ready  breakfast  for 
themselves.  They  take  a  meal  regularly  every  four  hours 
during  the  twenty-four,  and  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  the  great 
labor  they  undergo  must  create  a  proportionate  appetite; 
but  it  does  seem  astonishing  that  they  should  be  contented 
with  the  quality  of  the  provisions  they  subsist  upon.  Pork, 
pea-soup  and  biscuit,  compose  their  daily  fare ;  and  though 


-yfi^*^-^«^'^-^n, 


l/lO 


J.  H0WI80N. 


1 1 


they  give  their  meals  the  appellations  of  breakfast,  dinner, 
etc, ,  this  distinction  is  founded  upon  the  time  at  which  they 
are  taken,  not  upon  the  difference  of  the  articles  presented 
at  each. 

• '  But  notwithstanding  all  this,  they  are  the  happiest  race 
of  people  imaginable.  Inured  to  hardships,  they  despise 
it;  and  after  toiling  at  the  oar  during  the  whole  day,  and 
lightening  their  labor  with  songs  and  jests,  when  night 
comes,  they  kindle  a  fire  and  sleep  around  it,  iu  defiance  of 
the  elements  and  everything  else.  The  men  having  re- 
freshed themselves,  took  to  their  oars  wit)  alacrity,  and  we 
again  stemmed  the  translucent  surges  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
Tliere  is  something  so  wearisome  and  depressing  iu  the 
steady  unvaried  motion  of  the  bateau,  and  the  regular 
noise  of  the  oars,  that  when  the  banks  of  the  river  prtsent- 
ed  no  variety,  I  often  felt  au  uncontrollable  desire  to  sleep, 
though  I  had  been  particularly  warned  to  resist  any  incli- 
nation of  the  kind,  because  an  indulgence  in  it  would  pro- 
duce the  ague ;  however,  the  fear  of  an  attack  was  not 
strong  ejough  to  enable  me  to  keep  my  eyes  open,  and  I 
enjoj^ed  several  slumbers  in  the  course  of  the  passage,  with- 
out experiencing  any  bad  consequences. 

"We  now  entered  that  part  of  the  river  which  is  called  the 
Lake  of  the  Thousand  Islands.  The  St.  Lawrence  expands 
into  a  large  basin,  the  bosom  of  which  is  diversified  by 
myriads  of  islands,  and  these  are  characterized  by  every 
conceivable  aspect  of  nature,  being  fertile,  barren,  lofty, 
low,  rockv,  verdurous,  wooded  and  bare.  Some  are  a 
quarter  oi  a  mile  long,  and  others  only  a  few  yards ;  and  I 
believe,  they  collectively  exhibit,  on  a  small  scale,  a  greater 
variety  of  baye^,  harbors,  inlets  and  channels,  than  are  to 
be  found  throughout  the  whole  continent  of  America.  Na- 
ture seems  to  have  thrown  sportively  from  her  hand  a  pro- 
fusion of  masses  of  the  material  world,  that  she  might  per- 
ceive what  combinations  of  scenery  would  be  produced 
when  they  assumed  their  respective  positions  on  the  bosom 
of  the  waters. 

* '  The  number  of  islands  Las  never  been  correctly  ascer- 
tained, but  it  is  generally  s  .pposed  to  exceed  seventeen  hun- 
dred .  Many  of  them  are  of  little  value,  being  covered 
with  scraggy  pine,  and  having  no  depth  of  soil,  and  I  be- 
lieve, any  person,  whose  romantic  fancy  might  inspire  him 
with  the  desire  of  possessing  one,  would  find  no  diflBculty 


CAPTAIN  BLANEY. 


m 


in  getting  it  granted  by  Government  But  some  of  th^ 
larger  islands  would  form  delightful  little  farms;  and  the 
energies  of  a  future  people  may  perhaps  bring  them  under 
cultivation,  and  embellish  them  with  all  the  beauties  that 
arts  and  agriculture  can  communicate.  When  this  takes 
place,  the  scene  will  realize  all  that  fairy  loveliness  in 
which  eastern  historians  have  delighted  to  robe  the  objects 
of  the  material  world. 

"The  scene  reminded  me  of  the  beautiful  descriptions  of 
the  Happy  Islands  in  the  Visions  of  Mirzah,  and  I  thought 
at  the  time,  that  if  the  Thousand  Islands  lay  in  the  East, 
some  chaste  imagination  would  propose,  that  they  should 
be  made  an  asylum  for  suffering  humanity,  and  distributed 
according  to  the  respective  virtues  and  merits  of  those  who 
deserved  them."^ 

Our  writer  here  introduces  the  description   of  a  night 

scene  upon  the  Islands,  and  a  deer-hunt,  involving  details 

which  our  space  will  not  admit. 

CAPTAIN   BLANEY.— (1822.) 

This  writer  publishes  his  observations  anonymously.  * 

"  Some  fine  Steamboats  ply  from  this  place  [Kingston]  to 
Prescott  a  distance  of  seventy-five  miles.  The  broad 
expanse  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  from  its  origin  in  Lake  On- 
tario to  Brockville,  twelve  miles  above  Prescott,  is  studded 
with  numerous  islands,  which  are  covered  with  the  most 
luxuriant  foliage,  wherever  their  rocky  surface  affords  any 
place  for  trees  to  fix  themselves.  These,  from  their  num- 
ber, have  been  called  'The  Thousand  Islands,'  and  this 
part  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  '  The  Lake  of  the  Thousand 
Islands,"  but  their  exact  number  was  not  known  until  the 
Commissioners  for  determining  the  boundary  between  the 
United  States  and  Canada  ascertained  that  there  w^ere 
1,692,  reckoning  as  an  island  every  rock  on  which  there 
was  a  tree.  These  islands,  being  of  various  shapes  and 
sizes,  from  the  simple  rock  on  which  grows  a  solitary  pine 

(1)  See  Addison's  Spectator,  No,  159. 

(2)  An  Excursion  through  the  United  States  and  Canada 
during  the  year  1822-23.  By  an  English  Gentleman,  Lon- 
don, 1827. 


>Ul 


!4' 

m 


£•■ 


h' 


IJ^ 


F.  F.  DEB008. 


or  cedar,  to  the  largest,  eighteen  miles  in  length,  afford  an 
infinite  diversity  of  picturesque  views.  We  sometimes 
glided  through  a  small,  narrovs^  channel,  bounded  by  per- 
pendicular rocks  which  almost  touched  the  sides  of  the 
steam  vessel.  At  other  times,  we  entered  a  broader  ex- 
panse, where  the  islands  formed  numberless  beautiful  vis- 
tas, which,  from  the  rapid  progress  of  the  boat,  were 
constantly  varying.  The  pure,  clear  water  of  the  St,  Law- 
rence, so'differeut  from  the  muddy  streams  of  the  other 
American  rivers,  added  considerably  to  the  gene  al  effect. 
I  never  in  my  life  beheld  a  scene  of  such  romantic  beauty. 

"The  islands  terminate  at  Brockville,  and  from  thence  to 
Prescott,  the  channel  of  the  St,  Lawrence  is  open  and  pic- 
turesque, being  about  a  mile  and  a  half  wide,  with  bold, 
rocky  banks  on  either  side," 

The  passage  down  the  rapids  was  not  yet  attempted  by 
steamboats,  when  this  traveller  passed,  and  he  embarked 
on  a  flat-bottomed  boat  at  Prescott,  Of  the  Long  Sault, 
he  said :  * '  It  was  curious  to  see  the  velocity  with  which 
the  trees  on  the  bank  appeared  f o  run  past  us ;  indeed,  the 
whole  voyage  afforded  me  a  great  deal  of  amusement, 
though  when  passing  down  some  of  the  worst  rapids,  I 
was  obliged  to  hold  my  breath,  between  fear  and  admi- 
ration." 

HON.    FREDERICK  FITZGERALD   DE  ROOS.  1— (1836.) 

This  writer  was  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Royal  Navy,  and 
his  attention  naturally  turned  to  dock-yards,  ships,  seamen, 
and  the  historical  events  associated  with  naval  life.     He 

(1)  Personal  Narrative  of  Travels  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  in  1826.  Illustrated  by  Plates.  With  remarks  on 
the  pi'esent  state  of  the  Amencan  Navy.  London,  1827. 
8vo.    Pp.  207. 

This  writer  was  promoted,  January  19, 1828,  to  the  rank 
of  Commander,  and  February  7,  1836,  to  that  of  Captain 
in  the  Royal  Navy. 


■*  * 


F.  F.  DEROOa. 


143 


and 


made  a  rapid  tour  through  the  country,  and  closed  "  with 
the  satisfactory  conviction  that  the  naval  strength  of  the 
United  States  has  been  greatly  exaggerated;  that  they  have 
neither  the  power  nor  the  inclination  to  cope  with  Great 
Britain  in  maritime  warfare,  far  less  to  dispute  with  her 
the  dominion  of  the  seas."  He  admits,  however,  that 
' '  everything  in  America  is  upon  a  gigantic  scale.  How 
enormous  are  its  resources!  How  boundless  its  extent! 
Its  Lakes  vie  with  the  Ocean  in  magnitude,  and  its  Prov- 
inces with  mighty  Empires.  From  the  energies  she  has 
displayed  in  her  infancy,  to  what  powers  may  not  her 
maturity  aspire  V"  Of  the  voyage  up  from  Prescott,  he 
says: 

"  There  we  found  the  Steamboat  which  was  to  convey 
us  to  Kingston,  01  Lake  Ontario.  It  was  widely  different 
from  those  in  which  we  recently  journeyed,  being  hand- 
somely and  comfortably  fitted  up.  At  this  spot,  the  scen- 
ery assumes  a  more  interesting  character  and  as  we  ap- 
proached the  little  village  of  Brockville,  the  woody  islands 
and  rich  banks  of  the  river,  whose  enormous  breadth  con- 
tinues undiminished,  formed  a  varied  and  delightful 
landscape. 

"  We  landed  at  the  village,  which  has  a  church,  wharves, 
and  every  appearance  of  prosperity ;  though  only  ten  years 
ago,  the  forest- tree  reigned  the  unaisturbed  possessor  of  the 
soil ; — with  such  rapid  strides  has  civilization  invaded  the 
solitudes  of  the  wilderness !  If  such  has  been  the  growth 
of  Brockville  in  so  short  a  period,  what  she  may  be  ten 
years  hence  who  can  say?  Let  it  be  remembered,  however, 
in  our  speculations,  that  we  are  now  in  the  country  into  which 
the  superabundant  population  of  Europe  and  America  is 
pouring,  and  that  such  an  extraordinary  infusion  of  indus- 
try and  vigor  most  naturally  produce  uncommon  and  un- 
looked  for  results. 

"In  half  an  hour  we  again  proceeded  on  our  journey,  and 
were  fortunate  in  the  state  of  the  weather.  The  softness  of 
a  charming  autumnal  evening,  enhanced  our  enjoyment  of 


■  I  ' 


s 


\l\ 


III 


m 


F.  F.  DEROOS. 


the  beauties  of  "The  Lake  of  the  Thousand  Islands."  It 
bears  this  name,  but  there  are,  in  reality,  according  to  the 
last  surveys,  1,700.  The  shores  of  these  Islands  are  very 
bold,  and  the  Steamboat  shooting  in  and  out  among  them, 
continually  shifted  the  interesting  scene.  Thou':h  exhibit- 
ing an  endless  variety  of  shape  and  size,  they  are  all  re- 
markable for  the  richness  of  their  verdure.  The  whole 
extent  of  the  Lake  is  never  visible;  the  prospect  being 
bounded  by  the  Islands  which  immediately  surround  you. 

' '  In  the  evening,  as  we  passed  an  opening,  we  came  in 
sight  of  a  new  settlement  on  the  American  shore.  Five  or 
six  log  huts  formed  the  only  habitation  of  the  infant  col- 
ony. The  thick  wood  was  cut  down  in  the  immediate 
vicinity,  and  a  few  wretched-looking  individuals  were 
assembled  around  the  blaze  of  a  tire  which  burnt d  in  the 
centre.  Never  did  I  contemplate  so  dreary  and  hopeless  a 
picture,  nor  a  scene  of  such  desolation ;  but  even  this  place 
IS  already  named  'Alexandria,'  and  bids  fair  to  become  a 
prosperous  vil'age;  nor  is  it  by  any  means  improbable,  so 
excellent  is  its  situation,  that  it  may  in  a  few  years  possibly 
rival  in  size  the  city  from  which  it  derives  its  name.  ^ 

"As  the  sun  set  below  the  Islands,  the  full  moon  rose  in 
all  her  beauty.  The  light  evening  breeze  had  subsided 
into  a  calm ;  not  a  breath  of  air  ruffled  the  glassy  surface 
of  the  waters.  Impressed  with  the  solemnity  of  the  scene, 
I  could  not  refrain  from  wshing  that  here,  at  least,  Nature 
might  be  permitted  to  reign  unmolested ;  but  the  solitary 
watch-fires  of  the  recent  settlers  gave  sufficient  proof  that 
though  his  tenure  was  as  yet  but  frail,  Man!  rapacious  and 
indefatigable  Man  !  was  fast  establishing  his  usurpation." 

OABL      BERNHARD,      DUKE      OF      SAXE- WEIMAR-EISENACH. 

(1826). 

This  Prince,  the  brother  of  a  former  reigning  Duke  of 

Saxe- Weimar,  and  a  relative  of  the  present  Empress  of 

Germany,  was  born  in  1792,  and  died  July  31,  1862.     In 

1825-26,  he  traveled  in  America,  and  in  1828  upon  his  re- 

(1)  This  place  was  named  from  Alexander  LeRay,  who 
fell  in  a  duel  in  Texas,  while  serving  in  the  Texan  army  in 
1836. 


DUKE  OF  8AXE  WEIMAR. 


145 


turn  to  Germany,  he  published  two  volumes  of  Travels^ 
which  were  also  printed  in  London  and  at  Philadelphia,  in 
English.  His  Highness  describes  the  country,  its  scenery,, 
and  its  inhabitants,  in  a  kindly  and  genial  spirit,  but  with- 
out particular  study  or  original  research,  and  it  has  been 
remarked  of  it  that  "it  excites  respect  for  the  man,  more 
than  admiration  for  the  writer. "  His  benevolent  interest, 
and  his  detailed  account  of  what  he  sees  and  hears,  are  the 
most  remarkable  traits.     He  says  : 

"We  left  Kingston  after  eleven  o'clock,  on  board  the 
Steamboat  'Lady  Dalhoude,'  for  Prescott,  sixty-eight  miles 
from  Kingston,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  We 
had  scarcely  left  this  place,  before  we  sailed  around  a 
promontory  on  wliicli  stands  Fort  Henry,  into  the  St.  Law- 
rence. This  river  is  here  very  wide,  and  forms  an  archi- 
pelago about  fifty  miles  in  length,  called  the  'Thousand 
Islands.'  The  English  and  American  Commissioners  for 
determining  the  boundary  line,  took  the  pains  to  count 
these  Islands,  and  found  that  they  amounted  to  1,692;  in 
this  calculation,  however,  they  have  included  every  pro- 
jecting r.  ck,  even  if  it  had  but  a  single  tree. 

"  This  archipelago  presents  a  beautiful  prospect;  most  of 
the  Islands  are  rocky,  and  overgrown  with  trees,  generally 
cedar.  Here  and  there  a  fir  reared  its  lofty  head,  which,  gen- 
erally growing  upon  the  bare  rocks  or  where  the  trees  are  less 
numerous,  presents  a  picturesque  appearance.  We  observed 
something  similar  to  the  pictures  of  Frederick,  of  which  we 
were  reminded  in  descending  the  St.  Lawrence.  Eighteen 
miles  from  Kingston,  our  vessel  stopped  at  the  village  of 
Gananoque,  on  the  Canada  shore,  to  take  in  wood.  I  went 
for  a  moment  ashore,  and  found  an  insignificant  village,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  which,  the  river  of  the  same  name, 
falls  into  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  Gananoque  river  has  a 
rocky  bed.  and  is  crossed  by  a  wooden  bridge,  beyond 
which,  upon  a  small  eminence  is  a  square,  two-story  log 
house,  the  upper  story  of  which  was  formerly  occupied  as 
a  garrison  by  about  forty  men. 

"During  the  late  war,  the  Americans  got  possession  here 
of  an  English  post  and  a  magazine,  in  consequence  of  which 


t:  ' 


14B 


ADAM  FEROUSOX 


they  built  this  block-house.  At  the  extremity  of  the  archl- 
pelaj^o  of  the  Thousand  Islands,  is  a  similar  block  house, 
for  the  protection  of  the  navigation  of  the  river.  ^ 

ADAM   FERGUSON." — (1831.) 

This  traveller  went  up  the  river  on  a  large  Steamer  and 
passed  Morristown  and  Brockville,  with  a  promise  that 
he  should  be  called  before  ilng  on  the  labyrinth  of  the 
Thousand  Islands.     At  this  point  we  begin  his  account: 

"Sunday,  May  1. — About  four  this  morning  I  was  sum- 
moned on  deck,  and  found  the  vessel  moored  to  a  natural 
wharf,  where  we  had  been  taking  in  a  supply  of  fuel.  A 
set  of  free-and-easy  woodcutters  find  a  livelihood  here,  by 
clearing  Government  land  of  its  timber,  without  troubling 
the  authorities  to  collect  value  or  rent.  It  consists  of  pine, 
and  is  not,  I  believe  of  much  intrinsic  value.  A  man  may 
prepare  two  cords  a  day,  but  it  is  severe  work,  and  the 
price,  which  is  one  dollar  per  cord,  will  do  little  more  than 
compensate  maintenance  and  labor.  Our  vessel  takes  about 
2,000  cords  per  annum.  The  morning  was  worthy  of  May- 
day, and  I  watched  the  gr  ''lal  approach  of  sunrise  with 
interest.  The  river,  smo(  s  a  mirror,  reflected  minutely 
on  its  surface  every  tree  a-  ery  rock.  We  soon  got  in- 
volved among  the  Islands,  tne  river  expanding  to  a  Lake, 
and  deriving  its  name  from  the  number.  On  every  hand 
you  observe  numberless  channels  and  wooded  islands  of  all 
sizes  and  forms.  Some  are  of  considerable  extent;  while 
others  scarce  admit  of  footing  to  the  woodman,  who  seeks 
to  rob  them  of  their  solitary  pine.  Many  a  flock  of  water- 
fowl did  our  paddles  scare  from  their  quiet  haunts,  while 
occasionally  a  majestic  eagle  might  be  seen  soaring  aloft. 
It  was  altogether  a  scene  of  much  interest  and  beauty. 

"Our  helmsman  recounted  to  me  a  sporting  feat  of  some 
novelty  which  occurred  last  fall,  and  ended  in  the  capture 
of  a  fine  buck,  observed  swimming  among  the  Islands,  and 
which,  after  many  a  double,  was  fairly  run  down  by  the 

(1)  Referring  to  "Bridge  Island."    See  page  81. 

(2)  Practical  Notes  made  during  a  Tour  in  Canada  and  a 
portion  of  the  United  States  in  MDCCGXXXI.  By  Adam 
Ferguson,  of  Woodhill  Advocate.     Edinburgh,  1833. 


& 


J.    MACOREOOR. 


U7 


Steamer,  encumbered  at  the  time  by  four  h  -avy  Durham 
boats  towing  at  her  stern.  We  stopped  Tor  a  little  at 
Gananoque,  where  a  tine  mill-stream  pours  into  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  has  led  to  a  thriving  establishment  of  tlour 
mills,  a  cooperage,  etc.,  with  a  well  cultivated  farm,  the 
property  of  Mr.  McDonnell." 

JOHN  MACOREOOR.— (1830?) 

This  writer  was  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and 
the  author  of  a  great  number  of  works  upon  Commercial 
Statistics  and  National  Economy,  of  which,  perhaps,  the 
most  interesting  to  Americans  are  his  "Progress  of  Amer- 
ica, from  the  Discovery  by  Columbus  to  the  year  1846," 
in  two  royal  octavo  volumes  of  1,520  and  1,480  pages, 
published  in  1847,  and  the  work  from  wliicli  the  extract 
below  given  was  quoted.  His  descriptions  are  generally 
concise,  although  at  times  remarkably  comprehensive.  Of 
the  St.  Lawrence  in  this  vicinity,  he  briefly  says:^ 

"From  Prescott,  nearly  opposite  to  which  stands  the 
American  village  of  Ogdensburgb,  Steamboats  run  to 
Kingston,  passing  between  the  little  British  town  of  Brock- 
ville  and  the  American  town  of  Morristown,  and  then 
through  the  Lake  of  the  Thousand  Islands,  the  charming, 
picturesque  scenery  of  which  has  been  so  frequently  aa- 
mired. 

"At  Kingston,  the  St,  Lawrence  frigate  of  112  guns,  the 
Psyche  frigate,  and  two  or  three  other  ships  of  war,  with 
several  gunboats,  were  lying  in  the  harbor,  rotting,  and  in 
nearly  a  sinking  state.  The  dock-yard  was  furnished  with 
every  article  of  naval  stores  required  to  equip  ships  of 
war.  There  were  two  seventy-four  gun  ships,  a  frigate,  a 
sloop  of  war,  and  eleven  gunboats,  which  had  reposed  on 
the  stocks,  and  under  cover,  since  the  war.  They  were 
not  planked,  and  men  were  employed  to  replace  any  piece 
of  timber  that  might  be  decaying.     The  wooden  work  of 


(1)  Britinh  America, 
London,  1832. 


In  two  volumes.     Edinburgh  and 


m 


J.  MACQREOOR.-H.  TUDOR. 


the  Psyche  frigate  had  been  sent  out  from  England  to  a 
country  where  it  could  be  provided  on  the  spot,  in  one- 
tenth  of  the  time  necessary  to  carry  it  from  Montreal  to 
Kingston,  and  at  one-twentieth  part  of  the  expense.  Even 
wedges  were  sent  out ;  and  to  exemplify  more  fully  the 
information  possessed  at  that  time  by  the  Admiralty,  a 
full  supply  of  water  casks  were  sent  to  Canada  for  the  use 
of  ships  of  war  on  Lake  Ontario,  where  it  was  only  neces- 
sary to  throw  a  bucket  overboard  with  which  to  draw  up 
water  of  the  very  best  quality. 

"Kingston  harbor  was  at  the  period  of  Mr.  McGregor's 
visit,  crowded  in  the  Sumn.er  with  sloops,  Durham  boats, 
bateaux  and  scows,  and  he  regarded  its  position  as  one 
that  v7ould  always  secure  to  it  a  great  share  of  trade." 

HENRY  TUDOR.— (1831.) 

In  1831-2,  Henry  Tudor,  Esq.,  Barrister-at-Law,  made  a 
tour  in  North  America  and  the  West  Indies,  and  in  1834 
published  a  narrative  of  his  observations.  ^  He  appears  to 
haVii  had  no  particular  object  in  view,  beyond  that  of  per- 
soLial  observation  in  the  country,  and  recorded  his  opinions 
of  persons  and  places  with  impartial  fairness,  and  in  the 
epistolary  form. 

He  came  from  westward  by  Steamer  in  August,  1831, 
and  at  Kingston  saw  several  large  ships,  one  or  two  of 
which  had  been  destined  to  carry  one  hundred  guns  each, 
which  had  been  commenced  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  then 
lay  unsheltered  and  falling  into  decay. 

The  Rideau  Canal,  then  under  construction,  attracted 
his  attention,  and  its  objects  and  probable  influence  upon 


^Narrative  of  a  Tour  in  North  America,  comprising  Mex- 
ico, the  Mines  of  Real  lUl  Monte,  the  United  States  and  'he 
British  Colonies;  with  an  Excursion  to  the  Island  oj  Cuba. 
In  a  serie^i  of  letters  written  in  the  years  1831-3.  In  two 
volumes.     London,  1834. 


'*^ 


H.  TUDOR. 


U9 


the  welfare  of  the  country,  were  discussed  at  length.     He 

says  : 

"But  T  come  now,  to  scenery  that  will  perhaps  delight 
you  more  than  either  canttls,  or  ships,  or  sailors,  I  have 
brought  you  to  tne  very  shores  of  the  splendid  St.  Law- 
rence, which,  as  I  mentioned  before,  receives  its  crystal 
flood  at  Kingston,  from  tne  waters  of  Lake  Ontario,  ter- 
minating at  that  place.  From  this,  its  noble  source,  it 
rolls  along  its  majestic  and  expansive  stream,  fertilizing  the 
lands  and  domains  of  a  thousand  cities,  towns  and  villages, 
lying  on  its  banks,  through  a  distance  of  700  miles  to  the 
Ocean,  The  scene  now  presented  to  me,  and  extending 
throughout  the  day's  excursion  of  seventy  miles,  to  Pres- 
cott,  displayed  all  the  attractions  of  novelty,  united  with 
the  most  exquisite  beauty.  Shortly  after  entering  the  River, 
which  is  several  miles  in  breadth,  you  approach  the  broken 
and  undulating  outline  of  a  region  of  Islands.  They  are 
csilled  par-eminence,  'The  Thousand  Islands";  nor  does  the 
figure,  as  if  lending  a  poetical  charm  by  the  multiplication 
of  numbers,  outstrip  the  fact;  since,  I  believe,  the  whole 
group  amounts  to  fourteen  or  fifteen  hundred,  scattered  in  , 
all  directions  on  the  surface  of  this  'shining  river.'         .  y 

"  Nothing  can  be  imagined  more  lovelj"  and  picturesque 
than  winding  j^our  constantly  meandering  course  through 
this  verdant  labyrinth.  All  the  endless  varieties  of  shape, 
color,  height,  size,  and  contour,  are  exhibited  in  ever- 
changing  appearances.  Their  forms,  indeed,  are  as  diver- 
sified as  their  numbers.  Some  of  them,  covered  with  a 
rich,  green  sward,  repose  ou  the  stream,  so  nearly  level 
with  it,  as  if  floating  down  upon  its  bosom;  others  elevate 
their  summits  in  bold  perpendicular  ascents,  crowned  with 
the  most  luxuriant  foliage ;  and  here  and  there  is  seen  an 
islet,  formed  of  fantastic  rocks,  piled  on  each  other,  and 
contrasting  their  rugged  and  barren  surface  with  the  smil- 
ing fertility  of  the  rest.  On  some  few  of  these  fairy 
islands  you  perceive  a  cottage,  or  a  log  house,  rearing  its 
simple  structure  amid  this  landscape  of  loveliness  and  silent 
beauty,  and  affording  a  pleasing  relief,  in  the  symptoms  of 
human  existence  which  it  offers  to  the  otherwise  unbroken 
solitude  that  reigns  around.  On  another  side,  you  see 
a  natural  terrace,  or  a  glade,  peeping  forth  from  its 
half-concealed  position  in  a  wood;  while  the  transparent 


^1*1 


Ifi 


150 


J.  S.  BUCKINGHAM. 


.11 


-^-: 


water  casts  back  from  its  placid  current  the  rocks  and  trees 
by  which  it  is  overshadowed. 

"  The  endless  succession  of  objects  that  regale  the  eye  as 
you  thread  the  maze  of  isolated  rocks  atid  woods,  basking, 
in  countless  numbers,  on  the  sunny  element,  brings  home 
to  your  imagination  all  the  enchanting  visions  of  Arabian 
and  Oriental  descriptions. 

"I  wus  forcibly  reminded  of  the  interesting  Straits  of 
Malacca,  through  which  I  sailed  a  few  years  ago  on  my 
passage  to  China,  and  presenting  a  similar  aspect;  and 
where  several  of  the  islands,  though  larger  and  much  more 
numerous,  exhibit  in  the  grotesque  shapes  the  forms  of 
crocodiles,  rabbits,  alligators  and  other  singular  animals. 
Nothing,  however,  can  exceed,  if  equal,  the  '  Thousand 
Islands '  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Here  Nature  has  wrapped 
herself  in  all  the  witchery  of  her  silent  charms,  and  here 
her  lonely  and  soothing  beauty  speaks  a  language  to  the 
heart,  unfelt  by  the  proudest  works  of  man." 

J.    S.    BUCKINGHAM. —(1839.) 

James  Silk  Buckingham  was  born  in  Flushing,  England, 
.  in  1786,  and  closed  a  life  of  extraordinary  vicissitudes 
June  30,  1855.  He  had  travelled  extensively  in  Europe, 
Asia  and  Africa,  was  a  voluminous  and  graceful  writer, 
an  able  lecturer,  and  a  man  of  vast  and  varied  informa- 
tion generally.  His  books  of  American  travel,  in  nine 
illustrated  octavos,  form  the  most  extensive  series  yet  pub- 
lished by  any  one  writer,  and  are  regarded  as  of  great 
value.  They  discuss  questions  relating  to  education, 
morals,  manners,  manufactures,  trade  and  commerce,  with 
fairness,  and  indicate  his  freedom  from  prejudice,  while 
they  prove  the  benevolence  of  hif)  heart.  His  voyage 
down  this  part  of  the  St.  Lawrence  was  made  in  the 
Steamer  Dolphin,  in  August,  1839,  and  of  the  passage  he 
says:^ 

(1)  Buckingham's  Canada,  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick. 
p.  83. 


"^ 


J.  8.  BUCKINGHAM— O.    COMB. 


151 


"  The  weather  was  very  beautiful,  and  as  we  soon  got 
among  the  Thousand  Islands,  which  here  stretch  them- 
selves along  the  centre  of  the  St.  Lawrence  iw  a  distance 
of  forty  miles,  we  had  abundi?.nt  exescWR  for  all  our  facul- 
ties. The  main  stream  of  the  8t.  Lawrence,  as  it  flows 
from  the  western  termination  of  Lake  Ontario,  is  about 
twelve  miles  wide ;  but  it  is  so  thickly  studded  with  islands 
that  it  is  like  passing  through  a  vast  Archipelago,  rather 
than  navigating  a  River.  Though  this  extensive  range 
bears  the  name  of  The  Thousand  Islands,  it  is  said  that 
there  are  more  than  1.^00  of  them,  which  I  can  readily 
believe.  The  largest  of  them  are  from  eight  to  ten  miles 
in  length,  and  four  to  five  in  breadth ;  and  the  smallest  of 
them  covers  perhaps  an  acre  oi  space.  They  are  for  the 
most  part  rocky,  sometimes  rising  in  abrupt  cliffs  from  the 
water,  and  so  bold  and  steep  that  you  may  run  the  boat 
near  enough  almost  to  touch  the  cliffs  from  the  vessel ;  a 
few  only  are  low  and  flat,  but  being  nearly  all  wooded, 
they  form  a  perpetual  succession  of  the  most  romantically 
beautiful  and  picturesque  groups  that  can  be  conceived, 
r.he  water  of  the  St.  Lawrence  is  of  a  bright  green  tinge, 
and  beautifully  clear,  much  clearer  than  the  upper  part  of 
the  Mississippi;  almost,  indeed,  as  transparent  as  Lake 
Huron  itself;  and  from  its  majestic  breadth,  its  rich  and 
varied  scenery,  and  the  settled  population  seen  along  its 
banks,  the  St.  Lawrence  has  a  grandeur,  as  well  as  a  va- 
riety and  beauty,  about  it  which  no  other  River  that  we 
have  yet  seen  on  this  Continent  possessed  in  an  equal 
degree." 

GEORGE   COMB.— (1839). 

Mr.  Comb  was  born  at  Edinburgh,  Oct.  21,  1788,  and 
was  educated  as  a  lawyer.  At  the  age  of  thirty  he  became 
interested  in  Phrenology,  as  expounded  by  Gall  and  Spurz- 
heim,  and  during  the  whole  of  his  subsequent  life,  which 
ended  in  1858,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  promotion  of  this 
study,  in  which  he  wrote  and  published  much.  He  de- 
livered courses  of  lectures  in  various  parts  of  G  eat  Britain 
and  America.  ^  and  some  of  his  writings  were  extensively 

(1)  Notes  on  the  United  States  of  North  America,  during 
a  Phrenological  Visit  in  1838-39-40.  Edinburgh;  3  Vols., 
1841,  ,    . 


f 


152 


a.  COMB. 


published  in  French,  German  and  Swedish.     Among  his 

later  studies  were  questions  of  reform  in  Prison  Discipline 

and  Criminal  Legislation.     Under  date  of  June  28, 1839,  he 

says  : 

"The  Steamboat  was  large,  and  had  excellent  accommo- 
dations.    We  sailed  all  night,  and  at  7  a.  m.  touched  at  the 
American  town  of  Oswego 
arrived  at  Kingston. 


* 


* 


At  3  p.  M. ,  we 
The  St.  Lawrence  ct)mmences  here. 
When  we  were  at  Niagara  Falls,  General  Scott  mentioned 
to  us  that  a  plot  was  suspected  to  be  hatching  by  the 
disaffected  Canadians  and  their  Aaierican  allies,  to  burn 
the  British  Steamboats  on  the  St.  Lawrence;  that  he  had 
communicated  all  the  information  he  possessed  on  the  sub- 
ject to  the  British  officers,  and  had  also  instructed  the 
American  officers  to  observe  the  strictest  watch  to  defeat 
the  scheme.  At  Kingston  we  entered  another  Steamboat, 
and  soon  saw  that  General  Scott's  information  was  acted 
on.  We  were  boarded  by  a  British  sergeant  and  corporal, 
and  a  party  of  soldiers.  The  sergeant  mustered  them  on 
the  dock,  gave  the  words  'shoulder  arms,'  'opeu  pans,'  and 
then  went  along  the  line  and  examined  every  lock  and 
flint,  to  see  that  it  wap  tit  for  service.  The  arms  were  then 
piled  on  deck,  and  we  commenced  our  voyage.  The  River 
is  here  ten  miles  broad,  strewed  with  a  Thousand  Islands, 
varying  from  a  foot  square  to  many  hundreds  of  acres  in 
extent,  all  covered  with  bushes  or  timber.  The  evening 
was  flne,  and  the  scene  was  highly  picturesque  as  we  glided 
among  them.  Their  grouping  and  forms  presented  a  new 
picture  every  five  minutes,  and  all  graceful  and  rich.  At 
sunset  the  sergeant  again  mustered  his  men,  and  placed 
three  sentinels;  one  near  the  paddle-box  on  the  American 
side;  one  on  the  stern  on  the  same  side,  and  one  in  the 
bow.  It  was  moonlight.  We  approached  a  large  barge 
lying  at  anchor  close  to  the  shore.  'What  boat,  a-hoy  ?' 
cried  the  soldier  on  the  bow.  No  answer.  We  approached 
close  to  her.  She  was  a  lumber  boat,  with  nobody 
aboard."  - 

CHARLES  DICKENS.— (1842.) 

In  the  summer  of  1842,  Charles  Dickens,  the  well  known 
English  novelist,  made  a  journey  in  America,   and  pub- 


■> 


C.  DICKENS. 


153 


pub- 


lished h's  observations  in  a  book  entitled  "American  Notes 
for  General  Circulation,"  a  work  which  many  persons  have 
regarded  as  anything  but  Just  or  fair  in  its  conclusions,  or 
creditable  to  th*»  author.  He  had  already  made  an  exten- 
sive tour  through  the  States,  and  approached  this  region 
by  way  of  Steamer  from  Niagara.  His  record  of  present 
interest  is  as  follows  : 

"We  left  Kingston  for  Montreal  on  the  10th  of  May,  at 
half -past  nine  in  the  morning,  and  proceeded  in  a  Steam- 
boat down  the  St.  Lawrence  River.  The  beauty  of  this 
noble  stream  at  almost  any  point,  but  especially  in  the 
commencement  of  this  journey,  where  it  winds  its  way 
among  the  Thousand  Islands,  can  hardly  be  imagined.  The 
number  and  constant  succession  of  these  Islands,  all  green 
and  richly  wooded ;  their  fluctuating  sizes,  some  so  large, 
that  for  half  an  hour  together,  one  among  them  will  appear 
as  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  and  some  so  small  that 
they  are  mere  dimples  on  its  bosom, — their  intinite  variety 
of  shapes, — and  the  numberless  combinations  of  beautiful 
forms  which  the  trees  growing  on  them  present; — all  form 
a  picture  fraught  with  uncommon  interest  and  pleasure."^ 

REV.  GEO.    LEWIS. — (1844.) 

This  writer  came  to  America  upon  a  religious  errand, 
and  much  of  his  book  is  devoted  to  an  account  of  the  in- 
terests with  which  he  was  connected.  ^ 

"  I  left  Kingston  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  June, 
sailing  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  by  the  Highlander  Steamer. 
The  weather  was  splendid,  the  river  broad  and  beautiful — 
the  noblest  sheet  of  running  water  I  ever  beheld.  As  we 
descended,  we  entered  among  the  Thousand  Islands,  that 

(1)  The  New  World  Edition  of  "American  Notes  for 
General  Circulation,,''  p.  37. 

(2)  Impressions  of  America  ami  the  Amo'ican  Churches, 
from  a  Jonrnal  of  the  Rev.  O.  Leims,  one  of  the  Depiitation 
of  the  Free  C  hurch  of  Scotland  to  the  United  States.  Edin- 
burgh. 1845.  r      ,   .-  .: 

10  - 


m\ 


15J^ 


0.  LEWIS.— W.  CHAMBERS. 


break  this  noble  river  into  so  many  small  lakes  and  narrow 
channels.  The  woods  have  nothing  of  the  magnificence 
and  rich  foliage  of  the  South,  and  remind  you  rather  of 
the  forests  of  the  Scottish  Highlands,  presenting  many  a 
lovely  combination  of  wood  and  water  for  forty  miles,  un- 
til you  come  to  Brockville,  a  considerable  town,  which 
looked  so  tempting  that  I  determined  to  spend  a  day  there. 
I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  find  the  Canadian  Methodist  Con- 
ference holding  its  sittings.  This  Conference  consists  of 
120  ordained  preachers  and  has  no  bishops,  the  Episcopa- 
lian Methodists  not  being  so  numerous  in  Canada  as  in  the 
States." 

"  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS. — (1846.) 

William  and  Robert  Chambers,  deserve  an  honorable 
place  in  Literature,  on  account  of  their  zeal  and  success  in 
the  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge.  Of  these,  the  first  was 
born  in  1800,  and  in  boyhood  was  thrown  upon  his  own  re- 
sources. He  fell  into  the  book-selling  trade,  and  with  his 
brother  in  1832  began  a  popular  periodical,  followed  by 
other  publications  which  attained  a  well-merited  success. 
Taking  a  cheap  and  attractive  form,  and  being  very  judi- 
ciously edited,  the  brothers  gave  to  the  world  a  series  of 
works,  that  sold  in  immense  editions,  and  made  their  name 
widely  known.  William  Chambers  visited  America  in 
1853,  and  records  his  impressions  of  this  region,  in  a  jour- 
ney up  the  river  from  Montreal  to  the  Lakes,  as  the  scenery 
appeared  to  him,  on  a  fine  Indian-summer  dayi^ 

"We  may  be  said  now  (after  passing  Brockville),  to  en- 
ter that  beautiful  and  spacious  part  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
known  as  the  Lake  of  the  Thousand  Islands.  The  river 
is  expanded  to  a  width  of  from  two  to  three  miles,  and  so 
dotted  over  with  islands,  as  to  have  apparently  neither  in- 

(1)  Things  as  iliey  are  in  America.  By  William  Cham- 
bers, 1854,  p.  97. 


HEV.  JAMES  DIXON. 


165 


gress  or  egress.  The  Islands  are  of  all  imaginable  sizes  and 
forms,  from  a  single  rock  to  several  acres  in  extent.  All 
are  richly  clothed  with  wood  and  shrubs,  the  variegated 
foliage  of  which  contrasts  finely  with  the  smooth  blue 
surface  of  the  water.  The  sail  for  fifty  miles  amidst  these 
irregularly  formed  Islands,  situated  at  lesser  or'greater  dis- 
tances from  each  other,  and  many  of  them  little  paradises 
of  beauty  and  fertility,  is  exceedingly  charming,  and  to 
visit  this  part  of  the  St.  Lawrence  is  the  object  of  numer- 
ous summer  excursions  from  the  United  States.  At  certain 
points,  light-houses  are  placed  among  the  Islands,  to  show 
the  proper  truck  for  navigation ;  and  we  can  suppose  that 
without  these  guides, the  vessels  might  chance  to  lose  them- 
selves in  a  labyrinth  of  land  and  water. 

"The  Islands  continue  until  we  reach  Lake  Ontario. 
One  of  the  largest  of  the  series  is  Wolfe  Island,  twenty 
miles  long  and  seven  miles  across,  lying  in  the  :  reatly  ex- 
panded river  as  it  issues  from  the  Lake;  and  here,  on 
rounding  a  rocky  and  fortified  promontory  on  the  Canadian 
side,  the  vessel  reaches  its  destination  at  Kingston." 

REV.    JAMES  DIXCN,    D.  D. — (1848.) 

In  1848,  the  Rev.  James  Dixon,  D.D.,  under  an  appoint- 
ment of  the  British  Conference,  made  a  tour  through  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  and  on  his  return  to  England 
published  a  volume  giving  his  observations  upon  the  coun- 
try, and  his  remarks  upon  Methodism.  ^  His  impressions 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  as  he  descended  by  Steamer  in  June, 
are  thus  described,  as  he  set  out  from  Kingston: 

"  Our  Steamer  from  Montreal  was  awaiting  our  arrival, 
and  after  some  time  we  got  on  board,  and  were  soon  off 
again  for  fresh  scenes  and  a  new  destination.  We  at  once 
got  into  the  current  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  found  our- 
selves in  the  midst  of,  I  should  think,  the  most  perfect 
fairy  scene  in  the  world — the  Thousand  Islands.     These 

(1)  Personal  Narrative  of  a  Tour  thorough  a  part  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada;  with  Notices  of  the  History  and 
Institutions  of  Methodism  in  America.  New  York,  Lane  & 
Scott.     1849. 


'til 


i!(i 


ill 


156 


REV.  JAMES  DIXON. 


Islands  are  so  called,  not  because  they  have  been  counted, 
— a  definite  being  being  put  for  an  indefinite  number. 
They  extend  from  the  singular  union  of  waters  by  the  ter- 
mination of  Lake  Ontario,  the  Bay  of  Quinte,  and  the 
head  of  the  '3<:.  Lawrence,  for  a  space  of  thirty  miles. 
They  are  of  every  size  and  form,  though  never  attaining 
any  great  elevation,  and  are  all  covered  with  trees  and 
shrubs.  Our  passage  lay  in  the  midst  of  this  wonderful 
group,  through  which  we  threaded  our  course  safely, 
thougli  it  needed  a  most  skilful  pilotage.  Some  of  the 
Islands  appeared  to  occupy  a  considerable  space  on  the 
bosom  of  the  flood;  but  one  isolated  little  thing,  just  stand- 
ing iii  our  course,  and  requiring  some  tact  to  avoid,  looked 
exactly  like  a  flower-pot,  with  one  plant  growing  in  the 
centre,  of  diminutive  size,  reaching  only  the  elevation 
which  its  scanty  soil  could  nourish.  So  true  is  Nature  to 
her  laws!  Had  this  tiny  shrub  risen  higher,  the  winds  would 
soon  have  levelled,  and  sent  it  floating  in  the  water. 

"The  day  was  clear,  the  sun  bright,  the  winds  soft  and 

fenial.  Could  anything  more  perfectly  remind  one  of 
*aradise  than  this  scene?  Xo  ruined  castles,  it  is  true, 
graced  these  Islands;  no  rising  turrets  covered  with  ivy, 
mantled  these  spots  of  primitive  beauty;  no  baronial  tra- 
ditions, no  deserted  halls,  no  banqueting  rooms,  once  the 
scenes  of  revelry,  of  love,  and  of  revenge,  were  here  open 
to  inspection.  AH  was  simple,  primeval : — Nature  clothed 
in  her  own  attire  of  leafy  loveliness.  Not  a  building,  not 
a  cottage  was  seen.  No  ascending  smoke,  no  signs  of  hu- 
man life,  no  bleating  animals,  no  ploughman's  note,  no 
stroke  of  the  woodman's  axe,  no  labours  of  the  spade  or 
hoe,  were  anywhere  visible ;  silence  and  repose  reigned  in 
these  Islands,  which  in  ancient  times  w^ould  have  been  peo- 
pled, in  the  imagination  of  poets,  with  nymphs  and  god- 
desses, without  interrupting  sound,  except  the  whispers  of 
the  wind.  Nature  lay  undisturbed  in  her  own  soft  bed; 
cradled  in  the  waters ;  rocked  in  the  elements,  and  soothed 
by  the  rippling  stream  as  it  passed  along.  This  simple, 
primitive  state  of  things  has  always  been,  from  the  time 
when  God  spoke  Creation  into  existence ;  or  certainly,  from 
the  period  when,  some  convulsion  breaking  off  these  frag- 
ments from  the  main-land,  He  stretched  out  His  hand  to 
place  them  in  their  present  position,  to  show  His  love  of 
beauty,  and  teach  mankind  lessons  of  grateful  admiration. 
"  One  only  inhabitant  who  has  been  known  to  dwell  on 


XA  VIER  MARMIER. 


1S7 


these  Islands,  was  a  sort  of  freebooter,  wlio  made  them  the 
headquarters  of  his  piracy  for  some  time.  He  shifted  his 
abode  a^  occasion  dictated,  in  order  to  avoid  detection; 
and,  sallying  forth  upon  passers-by,  feeble  enough  to  tempt 
his  cupidity,  plundered  them  of  their  effects,  and  then  has- 
tened to  his  lurking  places  in  the  Islands,  to  enjoy  the 
spoil.  He  was  at  last  detected,  and  is  is  now  expiaiiug  his 
offence  in  some  distant  prison,  or  living  at  large,  with  the 
brand  of  infamy  upon  his  forehead,  as  the  violator  of  the 
sanctities  of  a  spot  hallowed  to  innocence,  peace  and 
beauty." 

XAVIER   MARMIER. — (1850.) 

This  writer  was  born  at  Pontarlier,  France,  in  1809,  and 
early  evinced  a  passion  for  travel.  Having  visited  Switzer- 
land and  Holland,  he  came  to  Paris  in  183).  Being  well 
versed  in  German  literature,  he  edited  for  ten  years  the 
Revue  Oermaimp.ie,  during  which  period  he  traveled  and 
wrote  much.  In  1836-38,  h'j  went  as  the  secretary  of  a 
scientific  expedition  to  the  north  of  Europe.  He  spent  several 
weeks  at  Archangel,  visited  Iceland,  Greenland,  and  other 
hyperborean  regions,  and  after  his  return,  published 
many  works,  among  which  may  be  mentioned.  Travels  in 
Iceland  and  Greenland,  (7  vols. ,  8  vo. ,  with  elaborate  maps 
and  numerous  folio  plates,) — the  Literature  of  Denmark  and 
Sweden, —  Souvenirs  of  Voyages  and  Traditions,  — 
Popular  Songs  of  the  North, — Letters  upon  Holland, 
and  upon  Russia,  Finland  and  Poland,  —  Poesies  of  a 
Traveller,  —  The  Rhine  and  the  Nile,  — ;  Letters  upon 
Algeria,  and  upon  the  Adriatic,  —  A  Summer  on  the  Bal- 
tic, etc.,  etc.,  besides  voluminous  essays  in  Reviews  and 
Magazines,  He  was  recalled  from  travels  to  become  Libra- 
rian of  the  Department  of  the  Marine,  and  in  1847,  was 


m. 

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158 


XA  VIER  MARMIER. 


appointed  in  charge  of  the  Library  of  Sainte  Genevieve. 

He  is  still  (in  1880),  living  in  Paris. 

We  commence  his  description  of  the  St.  Lawrence  as  he 

was  passing  up  the  river  from  Mon'real:^ 

"On  the  St.  Lawrence,  traversed  by  steamboats,  by  ves- 
sels heavily  laden,  and  by  light  bark  canoes,  we  may  see 
early  in  the  season,  immense  rafts  of  timber  that  are 
brought  down  from  the  dense  northern  forests — hewn 
where  they  are  felled,  drawn  to  ihe  rivers  upon  the  snow, 
and  made  up  into  rafts.  Their  Canadian  crews  erect  masts 
and  spread  their  sails,  and  by  the  aid  of  wind  and  current, 
and  sometimes  by  rowing,  they  boldly  guide  these  acres  of 
fir  down  the  Rapids  to  Quebec — while  they  animate  their 
labors  with  the  melody  of  their  popular  songs.  A  part 
would  intone  the  Canadian  song 

"A  la  Claire  Fontaine," 

while  the  others,  repeating  the  last  two  lines,  would  at  the 
same  time  let  drop  their  oars,  as  those  of  the  former  arose. 

"There  is  probably  no  river  on  earth  that  has  heard  so 
many  vows  of  love  as  the  St.  Lawrence ;  for  there  is  not  a 
Canadian  boatman  that  has  ever  passed  up  or  down  the 
River,  without  repeating,  as  tl^e  blade  of  his  oar  dipped 
into  the  stream,  and  as  it  arose,  the  national  refrain  : 


"  '  II  y  a  lougtemps  que  je  t'aiuie. 
Jamais  je  ne  t'oublierai ! 

"  'Long  time  hare  I  loved  thee. 
Ne'er  will  I  forget  thee.' 


"And  I  will  here  say,  that  there  is  a  harmonious  sweet- 
ness in  these  simple  words,  that  well  accords  with  the 
simple  yet  imposing  character  of  the  scenery  of  this  charm- 
ing region. 

"Upon  our  coquettish  Rivers  in  Europe,  they  may  whis- 
per of  loves,  along  their  flowery  banks,  and  under  the  vino 
clad  branches  that  overhang  them  like  the  curtains  of  a 
saloon ; — but  here,  in  this  grand  severity  of  Nature — upon 
these  immense  and  half  desert  plains, — in  the  silence  of 
these  gloom  J'  forests, — on  the  banks  of  this  majestic  River 

(1)  Letters  sur  L'Amerique,  Par  X.  Marmier.  Canada — 
Etats-  Unis — ffavane — Rio  de  la  Plata;  2  Vols.    Paris,  1851. 


> 


XA  VIER  MARMIER. 


159 


that  is  ever  speeding  onward  to  the  eternal  Ocean,  we  m&y 
feel  emotions  that  are  truly  sublime.  If  in  this  quiet  soli- 
tude, should  we  open  the  soul  to  a  dream  of  love,  it  takes 
the  serious  tone;  it  need  should  be  a  pure  being,  that  dares 
to  breathe  to  the  heavens  and  to  the  waves  these  sacred 
words.  "  I  love  thee,"  and  that  should  add  the  promise  and 
the  pledge  of  the  Canadian  song — 

'  Jamais  je  ne  t'oublierai, 
<  Ne'er  will  I  forget  thee.' 

Amid  emotions  like  these,  which  the  aspect  of  this  vast 
expanse  of  River  and  shores  without  limit  inspired,  I  will 
n  ote,  only  to  acquit  my  conscience,  that  we  passed  various 
villages  and  cities,  some  nearer,  some  more  remote,  on  the 
right  hand  and  on  the  left:  Mariatown.  Moulinette,  Pres- 
cott,  Ogdeusburirb   Brockville. 

"  So  animated  anu  ilourishing  did  these  masses  of  habi- 
tations appear,  that  I  almost  looked  upon  them  with  impa- 
tience. It  seemed  to  me  as  if  they  had  no  right  to  be 
there,  to  trouble  with  their  little  bustle  of  life,  and  to  pro- 
fane by  their  petty  traffic,  the  religious  repose  and  august 
grandeur  of  the  scene. 

"  But  I  have  reached  that  wonderful  point  of  view,  the 
Lake  of  the  Thousand  Isles.  Imagine  a  vast  English  Park, 
with  its  massive  trees,  its  hills  and  slopes,  and  its  Ipps  of 
verdure.  Replace  its  green  turf  with  water,  blue,  trans- 
parent and  crystalline.  Do  I  give  you  in  the  comparison 
some  idea  of  this  beautiful  lake?  No,  I  dare  not  hope  to 
believe  this.  Over  an  area  twelve  leagues  long,  and  two  or 
three  wide,  on  whichever  side  you  turn  your  eyes,  you  see 
nothing  but  Islands  of  every  kind  and  form, — some  raising 
their  pyramidal  heads  boldly  above  the  water,  others 
lying  just  above  the  level  of  the  River,  as  if  bowed  to  re- 
ceive its  blessing  as  it  passed.  Some  are  bristling  with 
tirs  and  pines — others  lie  open  and  level  like  a  field  await- 
ing the  husbandman's  care.  Some  are  but  an  arid  rock,  as 
wild  and  picturesque  as  those  we  see  among  the  Faroe 
Islands ;  others  have  a  group  of  trees,  or  a  solitary  pine, 
and  others  bear  a  crown  of  flowers,  or  a  little  hillock  of 
verdure,  like  a  dome  of  malachite,  among  which  the  River 
slowly  glides,  embracing  with  equal  fondness  the  great  and 
the  small, — now  receding  afar,  and  now  retracing  its 
course,  like  the  good  patriarch  visiting  his  domains,  or  like 
the  god  Proteus  counting  his  snowy  flocks. 


!  I 
I 


160 


XAVIBB  MARMIER. 


V 


I 

I 


I 


"No,  surely,  these  cannot  be  the  Isles  of  Greece,  with 
their  mantle  or  light  and  their  balmy  fruits — the  poetic 
isles  that  inspired  the  Song  of  Homer,  and  crowned  with 
flowers  the  brow  of  Anacreon — the  voluptuous  isles  which 
bore  the  immortal  Paphian  beauty,  the  alma  nwiter  of 
Lucr^e,  that  intoxicated  to  death  the  senses  of  Saphb.  No, 
this  is  neither  Rhodes,  that  still  appears  before  my  eyes, 
nor  yet  Cypress,  that  I  long  to  see  again,  nor  Lemnos. 
These  are  more  captivating  and  sweeter  still.  It  seems  as 
though  a  Fairy,  a  friend  of  man — that  a  Titania  from  the 
North, had  in  its  sport  with  Ariel,  scattered  all  these  Islands 
upon  this  mirror  of  the  waves,  and  these  mysterious  woods, 
and  mounds  of  verdure,  to  awaken  by  their  aspect,  thr'i<;hts 
of  goodness,  with  those  who  pass  this  way. 

"  *  Que  faire  dans  un  K<te  a  moms  que  I'oii  ne  songe !' 

■<  '  What  should  be  duue  in  such  a  place  of  repote,  if  not  to  dream  I' 

"While  passing  the  Lake  of  the  Thousand  Isles,  I  was 
all  alone  in  my  little  room  at  the  end  of  the  boat — and  can 
you  guess  what  idea  struck  me?  It  was  another  Icaria; 
It  was  a  project  which  reminded  me  of  the  virtuous  Cabet! 

"But  you  will  hardly  wait  to  hear  me  tell  you  what  has 
M.  Cabet  to  do  with  this  affair  ?  Have  patience !  You 
know  that  I  am  not  in  the  least  degree  tainted  with  the 
Communistic  idea:  Therefore  re-assure  yourself — for  I  am 
not  about  to  develop  any  new  plan,  for  one  of  those  amia- 
ble societies  that  are  to  regenerate  old  humanity.  I  was 
only  letting  my  poor  fancy  dwell  upon  what  might  be  a 
happy  colony  of  friends,  each  having  his  island,  his  Patmos, 
to  retire  to  as  to  a  hermitage,  and  to  ^o  forth  from  as  to  a 
revelation.  As  these  islands  are  still  for  the  most  part 
nameless,  they  might  be  christened  as  their  souvenirs  and 
their  affections  might  lead.  On  the  Summer  evenings,  they 
might  go  out  in  their  light  gondolas,  and  with  the  songs  of 
Tasso, inhale  the  freshness  of  the  Lake  in  the  cooling  shades 
of  the  environs.  In  Winter,  they  might  glide  from  place  to 
place  upon  their  sledges  or  their  skates,  without  fear  of 
being  thrown  down  by  an  omnibus,  or  of  falling  into  a 
mob,  or  of  ever  hearing  among  these  Philosophic  Isles  a 
dozen  of  those  good  apostles  of  Socialism,  extolling  their 
panacea  of  Universal  Good. 

"What  say  you  to  my  dream?  There  are  those  who 
might  stop  me  short  by  asking — 'How  are  people  to  live, 
upon  these  barren  rocks,  and  amid  these  hoary  solitudes  in 


J.  J,  AMPERE. 


161 


Winter?'    But  honestly — had  we  not  ran  against  such  ob- 
stacles, here  are  ways  for  making  this  dream  possible." 

J.   J.   AMPERE.— (1851.) 

Jean  Jacques  Ampere,  was  the  son  of  Andr^  M.  Am- 
pere, the  celebrated  French  Savan,  who  became  eminent 
for  his  Mathematical  and  Philosophical  researches,  especial- 
ly in  electro-magnetism.  The  son  was  born  at  Lyons,  in 
1800,  studied  at  Paris  under  his  father,  and  became  distin- 
guished for  the  ardor  and  success  with  which  he  pursued 
various  branches  of  literature.  In  1833  he  became  a  Pro- 
fessor of  Belles  Lettres  in  the  College  of  France,  and  in 
1842  was  elected  to  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions  and  Belles 
Lettres.  He  published  a  History  of  Poesy,  and  various 
works  of  Foreign  Travel  in  Scandinavia  and  other  coun- 
tries, besides  special  researches  of  various  kinds.  He  was 
much  occupied  with  Egyptian  Hieroglyphics,  which  he 
learned  to  decipher  with  facility.  He  died  in  Paris  in 
i864. 

This  accomplished  and  pleasant  writer,  in  the  dedication 
of  his  work  to  M.  Alexis  de  Tocqueville,  attributes  to  him 
the  inspiration  of  a  desire  to  visit  America,  from  a  reading 
of  his  Demucratie  en  Amerique,  which  in  its  English  dress 
is  well  known  to  our  countrymen.  He  arrived  in  the 
autumn  of  1851  at  New  York,  and  after  visiting  Boston, 
found  his  way  northward  to  Quebec,  and  from  thence 
ascended  the  St.  Lawrence.  After  visiting  the  Indian  vil- 
lages below,  and  having  pleasant  interviews  with  Father 
Marcou,  he  arrived  one  Saturday  morning  in  the  early  part 
of  October,  at  Ogdensburgh,  where  our  quotation  begins:^ 

(1)  Promenade  en  Amerique  Etats-  Unis,  Cuba,  Mexique. 
Paris,  1858;  2  vols. 


\ 


\n 


I 


I( 


1 


14 


162 


J.  J.  AMPERd]. 


"The  night  was  spent  in  passing  through  the  locks  of 
the  canal  made  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  for  the  purpose  of 
surmounting  the  Rapids.  We  arrived  at  Ogdensburgh,  and 
they  took  pains  to  inform  us  (they  omit  nothing  in  Amer 
ica),  that  we  must  here  change  boats.  They  set  me  and  my 
baggage  quickly  ashore,  where  several  large  Steamers  lay 
smoking  and  ready  to  start  for  different  points.  As  we 
knew  not  which  to  take,  we  were  obliged  to  get  informa- 
tion as  best  we  could,  but  nobody  appeared  to  guide  me,  or 
carry  my  baggage,  and  in  the  meantime  some  of  the  Steam- 
ers were  off.  The  one  we  were  to  take,  however,  still  lay 
at  the  wharf,  but  it  did  not  leave  this  evening,  nor  on 
Sunday,  so  we  were  obliged  to  stay  in  Ogdensburgh  till 
Monday  morning. 

"I  have  frequently  remarked,  that  adversities  of te'i  bring 
a  happy  incident.  This  is  one  of  the  principles  in  my  Phi- 
losophy of  Travelling,  which  I  have  often  had  to  apply  in 
my  journeys,  and  my  philosophy  this  time  also  became 
triumphant.  I  would  have  been  very  soriy  not  to  have 
come  to  Ogdensburgh,  and  to  there  pass  a  day  and  a  half, 
for  I  don't  know  as  I  would  otherwise  have  witnessed  the 
spectacle  of  a  City  that  grew  under  the  eye  like  the  wings 
of  some  insects.  It  would  have  been  a  misfortune  not  to 
have  stopped  at  Ogdensburgh,  of  whom  no  one  had  spoken 
to  me,  and  which  I  never  shall  forget. 

"A  railroad  connecting  Boston  and  the  Western  Lakes, 
has  just  been  opened,  giving  to  Ogdensburgh  an  impetus 
of  which  we  can  as  yet  scarcely  speak — but  which  is  most 
curious  to  the  observer.  We  here  see  the  transition  from  a 
Village  to  a  great  City — the  skin  of  the  chrysalis  still  cov- 
ering tnc  butterfly  which  just  begins  to  open  its  wings. 

"The  most  interesting  spectacle  that  the  European  meets 
with  in  the  United  States,  is  what  I  ma}'^  term  the  embry- 
ology of  cities;  and  we  can  readily  trace  their  complete 
development  from  the  huddle  of  wooden  houses,  having  a 
well  marked  term  of  existence  and  individual  life,  with 
regular  relations  of  all  members  of  its  society  to  the  gen- 
eral whole.  From  this  germ  to  the  great  City,  there  is  an 
infiuite  number  of  intermediate  degrees,  and  Ogdencburgh 
answers  to  one  of  these,  in  a  stage  of  rapid  development. 
I  had  hitherto  seen  nothing  in  the  United  States  that  struck 
me  so  forcibly.  In  this  expanding  City,  everything  is  new 
and  unfinished.     In  German,  they  would  say,  that  it  is  going 


J.  J.  AMPERE. 


163 


to  be  (ein  werd'^n).  It  is  like  a  house,  where  they  begin  to 
furnish  a  room  before  the  roof  is  covered.  Imagine  broad, 
straight  and  well-laid-out  streets;  in  their  midst  a  black 
mud— on  the  borders,  plank  walks;  here  and  there  ravines, 
with  groups  of  trees  that  belonged  to  primeval  forests; 
fields  t:cdrcelj'  enclosed,  with  an  abandoned  look,  as  if  not 
yet  taken  up,  or  yet  to  be  cultivated,  and  on  every  hand 
beautiful  gardens  and  elegant  cottages,  with  every  appli- 
ance of  the  most  refined  civilization — on  a  place  cleared  but 
yesterday,  and  close  beside  an  unimproved  waste.  Some 
cows  were  straying  along  the  street,  near  a  store  of  novel- 
ties, where  the  fashion-plates  of  the  Journal  du  Modes  were 
displayed  in  the  windows,  by  the  side  of  portraits  of  mem- 
bers of  the  local  government;  and  bales  of  merchandise 
lay  in  the  streets  among  the  trunks  of  overturned  trees  It 
was  a  strange  mingling  of  dcjiarting  savagery  and  of  in- 
dustries to  come.  In  these  carefully  aligned  and  half 
filled  streets,  we  see  at  once  the  rudeness  of  primeval  life, 
a:id  the  rising  splendors  of  the  Orient;  for  they  have  got 
the  idea  that  this  City  which  they  are  building,  will  be  a 
great  one;  and  the  vision  comes  before  me  that  in  twenty 
years  or  so,  the  place  where  I  stand  will  have  a  hundred 
thousand  souls.  Should  one  of  my  readers  come  next  year 
to  Ogdensburg,  he  would  see  nothing  as  I  see  it  to-day.  It 
reminds  me  of  a  visit  once  made  to  an  Island  that  came 
out  of  the  sea  between  Italy  and  Sicily.  They  made  pro- 
files of  its  outlines  for  sale  to  the  curious,  but  the  outlines 
of  this  volcanic  Islet  changed  from  hour  to  hour,  so  that 
the  next  day,  these  pictures  bore  no  likeness  to  the  origi- 
nal. So  cities  in  the  United  States  spring  up  from  tlie 
soil,  so  to  speak,  li^e  the  eruption  of  Julia  Island  from  the 
sea.  They  change  their  aspect  continually,  and  what  is  a 
faithful  picture  to-day  is  no  longer  so  to-morrow. 

"From  these  impressions,  more  extraordinar}'  than  pleas- 
ing, I  sought  the  calm  serenity  afforded  by  a  walk  in  the 
fields,  and  along  a  fine  road  that  displayed  the  great  expanse 
of  placid  water.  A  little  clump  of  oaks  had  been  spared 
in  the  clearing,  close  by  the  River  l)ank,  and  I  reposed  a 
long  time  under  their  branches,  listening  to  the  tinkling 
of  cow-bells,  as  in  a  solitary  pasture  of  the  Oberland. 

"My  revery  was  broken  by  the  sharp  notes  of  a  woman's 
voice: — Cette poisson  d'enfantf^     I  did  not  dream,  on   the 

(1)     "  What  a  fish  that  young-one  is  !  " 


I 


i^i^ 


16j^ 


WASHINGTON  IRVING. 


I 


banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  of  beings  so  near  the  Place 
Maubcrt,  and  I  was  quickly  aroused  from  my  revery  by  this 
anything-but-poetic  reminder  of  my  native  country. 

"We  passed  up  the  Great  River,  and  presently  came 
among  the  Thousand  Islands,  which  lie  before  the  entrance 
of  Lake  Ontario,  These  are  generally  low,  and  covered 
with  trees  that  seem  to  rise  out  of  the  Lake.  The  progress 
of  the  boat,  as  it  winds  through  this  verdant  labyrinth, 
gives  them  the  appearance  of  movement,  and  they  seem  to 
float  upon  the  waters.  When  the  last  of  the  Islands  are 
passed,  the  Lake  which  had  been  before  a  vast  River,  at 
once  expands  into  a  Sea.  If  the  scene  is  not  picturesque, 
it  is  still  poetic.  A  landscape  painter  miglit  despise  this 
spectacle, — but  painters  too  often  undervalue  effects  that 
they  can  not  reproduce,  and  expend  their  talent  upon  pic- 
tures of  lofty  mountains,  vast  expanses  of  water,  and  im- 
mensity in  every  form.  Creation  in  the  painter's  art  has 
not  as  its  sole  end,  to  make  a  fine  effect  within  a  space  of 
three  feet  square." 

WASHINGTON   IRVING.— (1803-1853.) 

In  the  Summer  of  1803,  Washington  Irving,  then  a  youth 
of  twenty  years,  made  a  journey  to  Ogdeusburgh,  by 
way  of  the  Mohawk  and  Black  River  Valleys,  in  company 
with  the  families  of  some  land-proprietors  of  St.  Law- 
rence county.  From  the  High  Falls  on  Black  River  [Ly- 
on's Falls],  they  floated  down  on  a  scow  to  the  Long  Falls 
[Carthage],  consuming  tv/o  days  on  this  voyage  of  forty- 
two  miles,  the  intervening  night  being  spent  in  a  humble 
log  cabin  on  the  bank  of  the  River,  in  Lowville.  Soon 
after  starting  on  the  second  day,  they  had  an  exciting 
chase  of  a  deer  swimming  the  River,  and  finally  secured  it. 

"On  reaching  the  foot  of  navigation,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Long  Falls,  they  found  only  one  public  house, 
which  was  kept  by  a  Frenchman,  the  last  surviv6r  of  the 
'  Castorland  Colony, '  and  of  this  he  says : 

"  '  A  dirtier  house  was  never  seen.     We  dubbed  it  'The 


WASHINGTON  IRVING. 


166 


Temple  of  Dirt,'  but  contrived  to  have  tlie  venison 
cooked  by  a  servant,  and  witli  crackers  and  gingerbread 
felt  quite  independent.'  Before  leaving  next  morning, 
Irving  wrote  with  a  pencil  over  the  firep-lace,  the  follow- 


ing verse: 


'  Here  Sovereign  Dirt  erecU  her  sable  throne, 
The  house  the  host,  the  hosteas  all  her  own.' 


"Some  years  after,  Mr.  Hoffman  (who  was  with  Irving 
on  this  occasion),  put  up  at  the  same  house,  in  company 
with  Judge  William  Cooper  (father  of  J.  Fennimore 
Cooper,  the  novelist),  and  their  attention  bemg  attracted 
by^the  legend,  the  Judge,  who  had  seen  too  much  of  pio- 
neer life  to  be  over-nice  about  trifles,  wrote  underneath : 

'  Learn  hence,  young  man,  and  teach  it  to  your  suns. 
The  wisest  way's  to  take  it  as  it  comes.' 

"The  remaining  sixty  miles  of  Irving's  journey,  led 
through  a  wilderness,  along  a  road  newly  cut,  and  in  a 
vehicle  drawn  by  oxen."^ 

The  editor  of  this  volume,  when  writing  the  History  of 
St.  Lawrence  and  Franklin  Counties  in  1852,  having  met 
with  Irving's  name  as  the  witness  to  deeds  of  land,  ad- 
dressed to  him  a  letter,  asking  him,  if  willing,  to  furnish 
some  account  of  the  scenes  and  events  of  that  early  period 
of  the  settlement.  He  politely  declined  on  the  ground  of 
dim  recollection,  and  pressure  of  engagements ;  but  about 
a  year  afterwards  he  made  a  journey  through  Northern 
New  York,  and  the  reminiscences  which  these  scenes  of 
youthful  adventure  recalled,   are  given  with  a  freshness 

(1)  Life  and  Letters  of  Washington  Ii'ving.  By  Pierre  M. 
Irving,     i.  48. 


166 


WASHINGTON  IRVING. 


and  beauty  quite  characteristic  of  his  pen.     Coming  by  rail- 
road from  Lake  Cham  plain  to  Ogdensburgh,  he  says: 


"  Here  we  passed  part  of  a  day — a  very  interesting  one 
to  me.  Fifty  years  had  elapsed  since  I  had  visited  the 
place  in  company  with  a  party  of  gentlemen-proprietors, 
with  some  ladies  of  their  families.  It  was  then  a  wilder- 
ness, and  we  were  quartered  in  the  remains  of  an  old 
French  Fort  at  the  confluence  of  the  Oswegatchie  and  the 
St.  Lawrence.  It  was  all  a  scene  of  romance  to  me,  for  I 
was  then  a  mere  stripling,  and  everything  was  strange  and 
full  of  poetry.  The  country  was  covered  with  forest;  the 
Indians  still  inhabited  some  Islands  in  the  river,  and 
prowled  about  in  their  canoes.  There  were  two  young 
ladies  of  the  party  to  sympathize  in  my  romantic  feelings,  ^ 
and  we  passed  some  happy  days  here,  exploring  the  for- 
ests, or  gliding  in  our  canoe  on  the  rivers. 

"In  my  present  visit,  I  found,  with  difficulty,  the  site  of 
the  old  French  Fort,  but  all  traces  of  it  were  gone.  I  look- 
ed round  on  the  surrounding  country  ard  river.  All  was 
changed.  A  populous  City  occupied  both  sides  of  the  Os- 
wegatchie, great  steamers  ploughed  the  St.  Lawrence,  the 
opposite  Canada  shore  was  studded  with  towns  and  vil- 
lages. I  sat  down  on  the  river  bank,  where  we  used  to 
embark  in  our  canoes,  and  thought  on  the  two  lov  ely  girls 
who  used  to  navigate  it  with  me,  and  the  joyous  party 
who  used  to  cheer  us  from  the  shore.  All  had  passed  away 
— all  were  dead!  I  was  the  sole  survivor  of  that  happy 
perty ;  and  here  I  had  returned,  after  a  lapse  of  fifty  years, 
to  sit  down  and  meditate  on  the  mutability  of  all  things, 
and  to  wonder  that  I  was  still  alive." 

Mr.  Irving  lived  about  six  years  after  this  journey,  and 

died  November  28th,  1859. 

JOIIAN  GEORG  KOHL. — (1854.) 

Of  the  numerous  quotations  we  have  made,  there  is  not 
one  more  worthy  of  notice  than  that  of  the  distinguished 
Traveller  and  learned  Geographer,  Johan  Georg  Kohl, 

(1)  Miss  Eliza  Ogden  and  Miss  Ann  Hoffman.  Irving's 
Life  and  Letters,  i.  p.  48. 


BB.  J.  G.  KOHL. 


167 


Ph.D.  His  voluminous  publications,  including  Travels  in 
every  part  of  Middle  and  Northern  Europe,  and  his  admir- 
able geographical  memoirs,  (the  most  valued  of  which  by 
Americans  is  his  elaborate  work  on  the  Early  Discoveries 
upon  the  Coast  of  Maine),  have  been  uniformly  regarded 
as  productions  of  high  authority,  as  they  evidently  were  of 
profound  research.  Dr.  Kohl  was  born  at  Bremen  in  1808, 
and  was  educated  at  the  Universities  of  Gottingen,  Heidel- 
burgh  and  Munich.  He  first  studied  law,  but  turning  his 
attention  to  archaeological  and  scientific  pursuits,  he  per- 
haps rendered  the  greater  service  to  mankind.  His  work 
on  the  Influence  of  Climate  upon  Man,  is  one  of  particular 
merit.  This  writer  returned  home  from  America  in  1858, 
and  died  Oct,  28,  1876.  His  sister,  Madame  Ida  Kohl,  was 
the  author  of  several  books  of  European  Travel. 

Dr.  Kohl's  full  and  intelligible  description  of  the  Islands, 
is  enlivened  by  a  poetic  sentiment,  and  by  legendary  asso- 
ciations that  indicate  a  mind  keenly  alive  to  the  beauties 
of  Nature,  as  well  as  thoroughly  trained  in  the  field  of 
historical  inquiry.  ^ 

To  him,  at  least,  the  remark  of  Sallust,  the  Roman  His- 
torian, would  not  apply — "that  many  human  beings,  re- 
signed to  their  appetites  and  to  sloth,  pass  through  life  like 
travellers  in  a  strange  country,  uninstructed  and  unim- 
proved."   His  description  of  this  region  is  as  follows: 

(1)  Travels  in  Canada  and  Through  the  States  of  New 
York  and  Pennsylxania,  by  J.  O.  Kohl,  author  of  "Russia 
and  the  Russians,"  ."Austria,"  etc.,  etc.  Translated  by 
Mrs.  Percy  Sinnett.  Revised  by  the  Author.  In  2  vols. 
London,  1861. 


t  I 


ii 


■■  *  i 


168 


DR.  J.  G.  KOHL. 


"The  middle  of  that  portion  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  which, 
as  I  have  said,  was  formerly  called  Cataraqui,  has  become, 
I  scarcely  know  why,  the  chief  centre  of  traffic  for  this  part 
of  the  country.  The  two  most  important  towns  of  the 
district  here  lie  opposite  one  another,  Prescott  on  the  Cana- 
dian side,  and  Ogdensburg  on  the  American.  Railroads 
from  the  interior  terminate  at  both  places,  and  there  is 
therefore,  a  great  deal  of  life  and  bustle  on  the  water.  The 
St,  Lawrence  is  rather  narrower  at  this  point,  and  nowhere 
can  a  comparison  be  made  more  conveniently  between  a 
Canadian  and  an  American  town.  Prescott  exhibits  much 
darker  hues  than  Ogdensburgh,  where  all  looks  brighter 
and  pleasanter ;  the  houses  of  the  former  are  built  in  solid 
style  of  grey  stone,  and  same  building  material  that  has 
served  for  Montreal.  The  Americans  have  a  passion  for 
white  and  green  houses,  aiiJ  plant  willows  and  other  ele- 
gant trees  between  them,  and  the  contrast  might  be  con- 
tinued to  many  other  particulars  were  it  worth  while.  You 
have  before  you  at  once  a  picture  of  the  'old  country, '  and 
one  of  the  quite  new. 

"Ogdensburgh  is  the  capital  of  the  tract  of  land  tbat  I 
have  described  a  chapter  or  two  back;  some  miles  bfyond 
it  lies  another  pretty  river-port,  Brockville,  and  then  again 
some  miles  further  begins  the  celebrated  'Lake  of  a  Thou- 
sand Islands' ;  but  to  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  origin  and 
configuration  of  this  Lake,  you  must  begin  at  Lake  On- 
tario. 

"Lake  Ontario  forms  on  its  western  side  a  regularly 
drawn  oval,  with  smoothly  cut  shores,  and  no  considerable 
islands  or  appendages.  On  its  north-eastern  side,  however, 
where  its  waters  have  broken  through  the  obstacles  that 
opposed  their  progress,  its  hitherto  broad,  smooth  expanse 
is  broken  up  among  numerous  islands  and  peninsulas. 

"First    comes  the  large  peninsula  of   Prince  Edward, 
then  Duck  Island,    and  several  others,    as  well   as  long 

fulfs,  bays  and  islets,  breaking  the  land  right  and  left, 
'hen  near  Kingston,  you  have  the  Great  Wolfe  Island, 
Amherst  Island,  and  others ; — rugged  masses  of  land  that 
the  water  could  not  overcome,  or  possibly  which  rose 
above  the  surface  when  the  Ontario  subsided  into  its 
present  bed.  At  length,  beyond  Wolfe  Island,  the  Lake 
contracts  to  a  breadth  of  six  or  seven  miles,  and  here  be- 
gins the  *  Lake  of  the  Thousand  Islands. '    These  Islands 


DR.  J.  O.  KOHL. 


169 


are,  as  the  name  indicates,  extraordinarily  numerou?*,  and 
the  water  is  split  up  into  a  corresponding  number  of  chan- 
nels, but  at  length  the  river  develops  itself  again  out  of 
the  labyrinth.  For  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  reckoning 
from  Kingston,  the  waters  contract  more  and  more,  hol- 
low out  a  deeper  and  deeper  channel,  and  wear  away  more 
and  more  of  the  Islands,  which  gradually  become  less  nu- 
merous, and  cease  entirely  some  miles  above  Brockville. 
The  current  now  becomes'  stronger,  the  two  shores  appear, 
the  Lake  disappears,  and  the  River  takes  its  place;  but 
this  is  for  any  one  coming  down  the  River ;  we  were 
pursuing  an  opposite  course. 

"The  name  of  the  locality,  'Thousand  Islands,'  was 
probably  bestowed  by  the  Jesuits,  or  the  celebrated  Cana- 
dian traveller,  Champlain,  who  was  the  first  discoverer  of 
Lake  Ontario.  The  number  of  the  Islands  is,  of  course, 
only  guessed  at.  Some  make  them  1,500,  and  some  as 
many  as  2,000,  as  there  perhaps  may  be,  if  they  bestow 
the  name  of  Island  on  each  separate  bit  of  rock  that  sticks 
out  of  the  water,  or  every  reef  or  sand  bar  that  lies  just 
under  it. 

Half  of  these  Islands  lie  along  the  American  shore,  the 
rest  nearer  to  Canada,  and  the  frontier  line  has  been  drawn 
between  the  two,  and  the  channel  for  Steamers  keeps 
pretty  closely  to  that  line.  The  whole  scene  is  renowned 
as  interesting  and  picturesque,  both  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  and  parties  of  pleasure,  pic-nics,  and  sport- 
ing excursions  are  made  to  it  both  from  Kingston  and 
Brockville.  People  hire  one  of  the  elegant  yachts  or  boats 
^uilt  at  Kingston,  and  sail  about  with  their  friends  from 

land  to  Island,  dine,  camp  under  the  trees,  shoot  tlie 
water-fowl,  fish,  and  amuse  themselves  in  many  ways. 
Many  remain  for  days  together,  for  the  tours  among  these 
countless  Islands  have  something  of  the  charm  of  discov- 
ery. One  of  the  party,  perhaps,  declares  he  knows  of  an 
Island  that  has  never  been  visited ;  another  tells  of  a  deep, 
wooded  Bay,  in  whose,  clear,  calm  waters  no  one  has  yet 
tried  to  anchor. 

"  We  reached  the  first  of  the  Islands,  a  little  above 
Brockville,  and  soon  found  ourselves  surrounded  by  them; 
sometimes  lying  in  a  long  string,  like  a  row  of  beads; 
sometimes  flung  pell-mell  together  in  a  lieap.  Some  are 
large  and  covered  with  thick  woods;  all  have  trees,  and 
11 


'    il 


iU 


>  1 


' 


110 


DR.  J.  G.  KOHL. 


■  11 


there  are  some  so  small  that  they  have  only  just  room 
for  one  tree  or  a  bush.  There  is  an  Infinite  variety  in  the 
grouping  of  the  trees,  too.  some  being  gathered  into  social 
parties,  some  living  as  solitary  hermits,  so  that  perpetually 
new  combinations  are  formed  in  the  scenery.  Some  of 
the  Islands  are  just  barely  hidden  under  a  thin  covering  of 
moss  and  other  vegetation,  and  sometimes  the  crystal  water 
is  flowing  over  a  mass  of  naked  rocks  that  it  barely  covers. 

"The  foundation  of  all  these  Islands,  I  believe  to  be 
granite,  and  in  general  they  are  not  high,  though  pictur- 
esque  pedestals  are  afforded  for  the  trees  by  banks  of 
twenty  feet  deep.  The  larger  have  hills  and  valleys,  and 
arable  land  enough  to  be  worth  cultivating,  though  hitherto 
little  has  been  obtained  from  them  besides  game,  fish  and 
wood.  Villages  there  are  none,  and  only  a  few  scattered 
dwellings  or  shanties  for  sportsmen,  wood-cutters,  and 
lumbermen,  with  a  few  mechanical  contrivances,  such  s^s 
are  seen  on  the  Ottawa,  for  the  collecting  and  transporting 
of  the  felled  trees.  The  Islands  all  have  owners,  but  as 
everywhere  in  America  where  land,  wood  and  water  re- 
main unsettled,  they  have  been  to  some  extent  invaded  by 
squf^tters,  whos(}  huts  we  saw  here  and  there  on  the  shores, 
and  the  owners  seldom  offer  any  objection,  as  they  con- 
sider that  these  people  help  to  reclaim  the  land,  and  make 
some  steps  towards  its  cultivation. 

"The  best  time  to  visit  the  Islands  is  in  Spring  and  in 
the  early  Summer,  for  then  the  trees  and  shrubs  are  fra- 
grant irom  every  cliff  ;  the  woods  are  full  of  birds  and 
various  animals ;  and  sometimes  when  the  air  is  very  hot, 
the  water  is  so  deliciously  cool  and  fresh,  that  it  is  a  delight 
to  plunge  into  it.  But  in  the  cold  Autumn  day  when  I 
visited  the  Lake,  the  water  is  less  attractive.  Goethe's 
fisherman  could  only  have  been  enchanted  by  the  Nixie  on 
a  warm  Summer's  evening. 

"The  Autumn  is,  however,  the  loveliest  time  for  one  of 
the  greatest  attractions  of  the  Islands,  and  the  green,  red, 
yellow,  brown  and  golden  leafage  was  beautifully  mirrored 
in  the  clear  water  beneath.  Some  of  the  Islands,  when 
the  sunbeams  fell  on  them,  seemed  quite  lo  flame,  and,  in 
fact,  this  does  sometimes  happen  in  moj'e  than  a  meta- 
phorical sense,  and  the  burning  woods  produce,  it  is  said, 
a  most  magnificent  spectacle.  If  you  chance  to  be  passing 
in  a  Steamer,  you  may  enjoy  the  sight  nearer  and  more 


.^^5^- 


DR.  J.   O.  KOHL. 


171 


conveniently  tlian  a  similar  scene  elsewhere,  as  the  inter- 
vening water  renders  it  safe.  The  boats  there  run  very 
close  in-shore,  and  the  passengers  can  look  deeply  into  the 
recesses  of  the  blazing  woods,  and  yet  remain  in  security. 
I  was  told  this  by  a  gentleman  who  had  enjoyed  the  sight ;  and 
another,  who  noticed  the  interest  I  took  in  these  Thousand 
Islands,  mentioned  some  further  particulars.  In  his  youth, 
he  said,  they  were  inhabited  by  Indians,  remnants  of  the 
Iroquois,  or  Six  Nations,  to  whom  the  whole  north  of  the 
State  of  New  York  belonged.  These  Islanders  were  called 
Mismsagna,  ^  a  name  that  still  occurs  in  various  localities 
on  the  St.  Lawrence;  their  Chief  resided  on  one  of  the 
principal  Islands,  and  the  rest  of  the  tribe  was  scattered 
about  on  the  others,  in  birch  huts  or  tents.  Their  canoes 
were  of  the  same  material,  and  with  these  they  used  to 
glide  softly  over  the  water,  and,  in  the  numerous  little 
Bays,  or  arms  of  the  River,  surprise  the  fish,  which,  having 
never  been  disturbed  by  noisy  Steamers,  filled  the  waters 
in  countless  abundance.  The  birds  and  other  game  were 
equally  plentiful  in  the  woods,  but  now,  when  greedy 
squatters  and  sportsmen,  with  guns,  have  exhausted  the 
district,  the  Islands  are  comparatively  devoid  of  animal 
life. 

"It  was  the  practice  among  the  Mississagaus,  at  certain 
times  of  the  year,  to  leave  the  Islands  to  their  young  peo- 
ple, and  make  great  hunting  expeditions  northward  into 
the  interior  of  Canada,  and  southward  into  New  York. 
My  informant  had  visited  them  once  when  he  was  a  young 
man,  and  being  hospitably  received,  had  afterwards  repeat- 
ed his  visits,  made  acquaintances  and  friends  among  them, 
lived  with  them  for  weeks,  and  shared  the  joys  and  sor- 
rows of  the  hunter's  life.  Once  when  he  had  been  on  a 
journey  to  Niagara  and  the  West,  and  had  been  a  long 
time  absent,  he  could  not  desist  when  he  passed  the  Thous- 
and Islands  on  his  return  to  his  native  town,  Brockville, 
from  making  a  call  by  the  way  on  his  Mississagua  friends. 
They  recognized  him  immediately,  gave  him  the  warmest 
reception,  and  carried  him  on  their  shoulders  to  their 
Chief,  who  made  a  great  feast  in  his  hoiior,  and  canoes 
full  of  Indians  came  gliding  in  crowds  from  the  Islands  to 
see  and  welcome  him.     He  had  to  pass  the  night  among 

(1)  These  Indians  were  a  branch  of  the  Chippewas,  and 
not  of  the  Iroquois  race. 


m 


m 


172 


DR.  J.  0.  KOHL. 


•  I 

d 


Ei      1^1 


them;  the  squaws  prepared  his  couch,  and  two  of  the  In- 
dians insisted  on  serving  him  as  a  guard  of  honor  at  his 
tent-door,  where  they  camped  out  and  kept  the  fire.  'I 
was  almost  moved  to  tears  myself,  sir,  on  seeing  my  half- 
savage  friends  again.  Believe  me,  it  is  a  race  very  sus- 
ceptible to  kindness,  though  at  the  same  time,  certainly 
very  revengeful  for  injuries.  They  never  forget  their 
friends,  but  are  very  terrible  and  even  treacherous  against 
their  enemies.  We  have  very  erroneous  notions  of  the 
Indians.  We  call  them  poor  and  miserable,  but  they 
appear  quite  otherwise  to  themselves.  They  are  proud  of 
their  prowess  and  animal  daring,  and  of  the  performances 
of  their  fore-fathers.  In  fact,  tliey  think  themselves  the 
first  race  in  creation.' 

"  'Are  there  now  any  remains  of  these  proud  people  on 
the  Islands?' 

"'No.  They  have  been  scattered  like  the  chaff;  their 
fisheries  and  their  hunting  became  continually  less  pro- 
ductive; the  villages  and  towns  of  the  whites  grew  up 
around  them ;  they  began  to  feel  the  pressure  of  want ; 
their  race  died  away  like  the  fish  in  their  waters,  and  at 
last  the  few  who  remained,  accepted  a  proposal  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, that  they  should  exchange  these  Islands  for  a  more 
remote  habitation — I  do  not  myself  know  exactly  where.'  " 

We  are  here  able  to  supply  some  information  which  our 

author  had  not  the  opportunity  to  obtain : 

[Before  the  year  1826,  these  Indians  were  pagans,  wan- 
dering about  in  the  neighborhood  of  Belleville,  Kingston 
and  Gananoque,  and  earning  a  precarious  living  by  hunt- 
ing and  fishing.  They  claimed  the  title  to  a  large  tract 
north  of  the  River,  and  the  Islands  as  far  down  as  Prescott. 
Below  that  place,  the  St.  Regis  Indians  claimed,  and  these 
have  never  ceded  to  the  Government  their  right  to  the 
Islands. 

In  1826-7,  between  two  and  three  hundred  of  these 
"Mississaguas  of  the  Bay  of  Quinte,"  as  they  were  called, 
or  more  properly  the  Eagle  Band  of  the  Chippewas,  were 
induced  to  settle  on  Grape  Island  in  the  Bay  of  Quinte, 
about  six  miles  from  Belleville,  where  a  Wesleyan  Metho- 
dist Mission  was  established,  schools  opened,  and  the  sim- 
pler arts  of  civilized  life  began  to  be  introduced.  Under 
kind  and  gentle  treatment  they  made  much  progress,  and 


DR.  J.  0.  KOIIL. 


17S 


in  to  plant,  and  improve  their  homes  with  commend- 
able zeal.  After  living  eleven  years  on  the  Island,  they 
gave  up  their  improvements,  to  be  sold  for  their  benefit, 
and  removed  to  Alnwick,  in  the  County  of  Northumber- 
land, eighteen  miles  from  Coburg,  and  ten  from  Hastings, 
where  a  location  of  3,000  acres  was  secured  to  them  by  Sir 
John  Colburn,  and  laid  out  into  farms  of  25  acres  each. 
Nine  years  after  this  removal,  a  Report  showed  that  their 
settlement  had  36  dwellings,  of  which  22  were  framed 
buildings  and  the  rest  of  logs.  They  had  from  360  to  400 
acres  cleared,  and  had  a  population  of  233.  Their  present 
population  is  not  far  from  200. 

Many  years  ago,  they  ceded  to  the  Government  flieir 
lands  in  Newc  "^,  Midland  and  Johnstown  Districts,  and 
in  1856,  th**^-  ,  luislied  the  management  of  their  prop- 
erty in  tht  ds,  reserving  whatever  rents  or  profits 
might  result  ^herefrom.  This  trust  is  managed  by  the  In- 
dian Branch  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  at  Ottawa. 
The  Report  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1878,  gave  the 
capital  of  their  account  as  $81,408.61 — their  revenue  as 
$5,659.08,  chiefly  from  interest,  and  the  expenditures  as 
$4,254.69,  chiefly  in  distribution  to  those  entitled.  The 
future  policy  of  the  Government  in  respect  to  these  Islands 
has  not  been  determined. 

Several  of  the  larger  Islands  were  granted,  or  leased 
for  long  periods,  a  century  or  so  since,  and  some  of  the 
smaller  ones  are  held  under  Indian  titles  by  residents  upon 
them,  or  the  owners  of  lands  opposite. 

In  the  map  of  the  Canadian  Islands  prepared  by  Mr. 
Unwin,  under  date  of  June  14,  1873,  upon  a  scale  of  ten 
chains  to  the  inch,  names  or  numbers  are  applied  to  all  of 
them,  348  in  number.  They  are  divided  among  four  agen- 
cies for  supervision.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  these 
Islands  are  still  wholly  unoccupied,  and  in  a  state  of  nature, 
except  as  the  timber  has  been  despoiled  by  unauthorized 
persons  for  pleasure  or  profit,  or  as  destroyed  by  fires.] 

We  will  now  resume  the  narrative  of  Dr.  Kohl,  on  his 

voyage  among  the  Islands  : 

"The  only  living  being  that  appeared  very  common  here 
now  was  the  bird  the  English  call  the  Loon.  It  is  a  water- 
lowl  as  large  as  a  goose,  with  a  very  thick  head  and  long 


m 


DR.  J.  G.  KOHL. 


r^ 


beak ;  its  color  black,  with  white  spots  on  the  wings.  This 
large  bird  was  swimming  about  every  where  among  the 
Islands,  and  it  was  curious  to  see  how  exactly  similar  was 
the  impulse  of  instinct  in  the  numerous  specimens  that  we 
met  in  the  course  of  thirty  miles.  As  long  as  our  boat 
continued  pretty  far  off,  they  swam  quietly  about  on  the 
glassy  water,  attending  only  to  their  own  anairs,  and  busy 
m  catching  insects  or  fish ;  but  as  soon  as  we  came  within 
three  hundred  yards,  they  shot  up  into  the  air,  with  their 
long  necks  stretched  out,  and  rolling  about  their  still  longer 
heads,  so  as  to  look  at  us  timidly,  now  with  the  right,  and 
now  with  the  left  eye. 

"In  the  second  state  of  their  fear,  this  anxious  move- 
ment was  communicated  to  their  whole  body,  and  they 
steered  alternately  right  and  left,  and  at  last  tiew  straight 
on  before  us;  but  when  they  noticed  that  our  winged  steam 
monster  was  soon  again  within  a  hundred  yards  or  so,  they 
seemed  fairly  to  give  it  up, — rolled  their  heads  about  a  lit- 
tle more,  and  then  threw  a  somersault,  and  went  down 
heels  over  head  in  the  water  and  disappeared.  All  these 
motions  were  repeated  by  every  individual  as  exactly  as  if 
they  had  been  previously  agreed  upon. 

"These  'loons,'  the  'wintergreens, '  and  the  numerous 
watch  towers  among  the  Islands,  were  the  only  objects  that 
attracted  my  attention.  This  wintergreen,  or  Pyrola,  is  a 
low  plant  or  bush,  that  does  not  at  all,  at  least  in  the 
Autumn,  correspond  with  its  name,  for  it  looked  blood-red, 
and  covered  the  ground  under  the  trees  with  a  red  carpet. 
Sometimes  it  ran  as  a  border  round  the  Islands,  and  then 
the  groups  of  trees  seemed  to  be  enclosed  in  a  wreath  of 
red  flowers,  as  I  have  seen  them  in  an  English  Park.  The 
Light  Houses,  too,  tended  to  convey  the  impression  that  we 
were  not  upon  the  mighty  St.  Lawrence,  but  on  the  artifi- 
cial waters  of  some  pleasure  ground, — for  they  were  ele- 
gant white  buildings,  like  pavilions,  or  kiosks,  sometimes 
hidden  in  a  grove,  sometimes  rising  from  a  little  island  or 
promontory.  They  are  numerous,  and  of  course  very 
necessary,  as  the  winding  watery  channel  is  continually 
changing  its  direction  in  this  labyrinth  of  Islands. 

"By  degrees — after  you  have  breakfasted  once,  and  had 
one  dinner — the  garden  comes  to  an  end,  and  you  emerge 
upon  the  open  field — that  is  to  say,  the  broad  water,  and 
the  approach  of  the  Ontario  and  the  City  of  Kingston  is 
announced." 


MISS  BIRD. 


176 


I. 


MI88  BIRD.— (1855.) 

This  cheerful  writer  published  her  travels  anonymously. 
Taking  passage  at  Toronto,  on  board  the  Arabian,  the 
Steamer  raced  for  a  time  with  the  Maple  Leaf,  and  arrived 
in  the  night  at  Gananoque.  She  was  awakened  towards 
morning,  and  went  on  board  the  New  Era,  to  continue  the 
voyage  down  the  river.  It  was  a  cold,  dreary  October 
morning,  but  although  the  prospect  was  anything  but 
cheerful,  she  was  evidently  resolved  to  make  the  most  of 
the  opportunity.  ^     She  says : 

"I  didn't  allow  myself  to  fall  asleep  in  the  very  com- 
fortable state  room  which  was  provided  for  nie  by  the  friend 
with  whom  I  was  traveling,  but  hurried  up  stairs  with  the 
first  gray  of  the  chilly,  wmtry  dH"»vn  of  the  morning  of 
the  18th  of  October.  The  saloon  windows  were  dimmed 
with  snow,  so  I  went  out  on  deck  and  braved  the  driving 
wind  and  snow  on  that  inhospitable  morning,  for  we  were 
in  the  Lake  of  the  Thousand  Islands.  Travellers  have 
written  and  spoken  so  much  of  the  beauty  of  this  cele- 
brated piece  of  water,  that  I  expected  to  be  disappointed; 
but,  au  contraire,  I  am  almost  inclined  to  write  a  rhapsody 
myself. 

"  For  three  hours,  we  were  sailing  among  these  beauti- 
ful, irregularly  formed  Islands.  There  are  1,692  of  them, 
and  they  vary  in  size  from  mere  rocks  to  several  ac^-es  ia 
extent.  Some  of  them  are  perfect  paradises  of  beauty. 
They  form  a  complete  labyrinth,  through  which  the  pilot 
finds  his  way,  guided  by  numerous  beacons.  Sometimes 
it  appeared  as  if  there  was  no  egress,  and  as  if  we  were 
running  straight  upon  a  rock,  and  the  water  is  everywhere 
so  deep,  that  from  the  deck  of  the  Steamer,  people  can 
pull  the  leaves  from  the  trees.  A  hundred  varieties  of 
trees  and  shrubs  grow  out  of  the  gray  lichened-covered 
rocks.  It  seems  barbarous  that  the  paddles  of  a  Steamer 
should  disturb  their  delicate  shadows.  If  I  found  this 
Lake  so  beautiful  on  a  day  in  the  middle  of  October,  when 

M^^«—1 *^W^— ^W^M^— ^M^fc»  M  —  II   ■       ■  ■      I    ■— — —  W^»l       1^^1fc^l^ii^^^>— 1^—  ■         ■■    ■  I  I  I   — ^— piMMfc 

(1)  The  English  Women  in  America.    London,  1856. 


§ 

-I!  S- 
ji  if- 


176 


J.  8.  HOOAN. 


i 


« 


tlie  bright  Autumn  tints  had  changed  into  russet-brown, 
and  when  a  chill,  northeast  wind  was  blowing  about  the 
withered  leaves  and  the  snotv  against  the  ship, — and  when, 
more  than  all,  I  was  only  just  recovering  from  ague, — 
what  would  it  be  on  a  bright,  Summer  day,  when  the  blue 
heaven  would  be  reflected  in  the  clear  waters  of  the  St. 
Lawrence !" 

JOHN   SHERIDAN   HOGAN. — (1855.) 

At  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1855,  a  prize  was  offered  for 
the  best  Essay  upon  Canada  and  its  Resources,  and  of  the 
eighteen  that  were  offered,  that  by  Mr  Hogan  was  selected 
as  deserving  the  highest  honors.  ^  In  noticing  its  internal 
communications,  this  writer  says: 

"  To  appreciate  the  magnitude  of  the  canals  and  locks 
on  the  St.  Lawrence,  it  is  necessary  to  glance  at  the  splen- 
did River  of  whose  nearly  two  thousand  miles  of  naviga- 
tion they  form  the  connecting  links.  Let  me  conduct  the 
reader,  then,  to  where  the  Steamer  destined  to  '  shoot  the 
Rapids,' first  winds  in  nvaoTig^iihQ  Thousand  Islands.  It 
is  between  Kingston  and  Brockville,  and  usually  just  after 
sunriee.  The  scpne  here  of  a  bright  morning — the  morn- 
ings are  seldom  otherwise  in  Canada — is  magnificent  be- 
yond description.  You  pass  close  by — near  enough  to 
cast  a  rebble  from  the  deck  of  the  Steamer  upon  them — 
cluster  after  cluster  of  little  circular  Islands,  whose  tress, 
perpetually  moistened  by  the  River,  have  a  most  luxuriant 
ami  exquisitely  tinted  foliage,  their  branches  overhanging 
ih. 


e  water. 


"Again,  you  pass  little  winding  passages  and  bays  be- 
tween the  Islands,  the  trees  on  their  margins  interlacing 
above  them,  and  forming  here  and  there  natural  bowers; 
yet  are  the  waters  of  these  Bays  so  deep  that  Steamers  of 
considerable  size  might  pass  under  the  interlacing  trees. 

(1)  Canada.  An  Essay  to  which  was  Awarded  tlie  Mrst 
Prize  by  the  Paris  Exhibition  Committee  of  Canada.  By  J. 
Sheridan  Hogan.  Montreal,  1855.  A  French  edition  of 
this  Essay  was  also  published. 

Mr.  Hogan,  who  had  been  returned  to  the  Parliament 
from  the  County  of  Grey,  was  murdered  near  Toronto, 
in  December,  1858. 


■'^i 


J.  S.  HOOAN. 


177 


Then  opens  up  before  you  a  magnificent  sheet  of  water, 
many  miles  wide,  with  a  large  Island  apparently  in  the 
distance,  dividing  it  into  two  great  Rivers.  But  as  you 
approach  this,  you  discover  that  it  is  but  a  group  of 
small  Islands,  the  River  being  divided  into  many  parts, 
and  looking  like  silver  threads  thrown  carelessly  over  a 
large,  green  cloth.  Your  Steamer  enters  one  of  these 
bright  pcisoages,  and  you  begin  at  length  to  feel  that  in 
the  multitude  of  ways  there  must  be  great  danger,  for 
your  half-embowered  and  winding  River  comes  to  an  abrupt 
termination  four  or  five  hundred  yards  in  advance  of  you. 
But  as  you  approach  at  headlong  speed  the  threatening 
rocks  in  front,  a  channel  suddenly  opens  upon  your  right ; 
you  are  whirled  into  it  like  the  wind,  and  the  next  second 
a  magnificent  amphitheatre  of  Lake  opens  out  before  you. 
This,  again,  is  bounded,  to  all  appearances,  by  a  dark 
green  bank,  but  as  you  ipproach,  the  mass  is  moved,  as 
if  in  a  kaleidoscope,  and  lo !  a  hundred  beautiful  Islands 
make  their  appearance!  And  such,  for  seventy  miles,  and 
till  you  reach  the  r  pids,  is  the  scenery  which  you  glide 
through. 

"  It  is  impossible,  ever  for  those  whose  habits  and  oc- 
cupations naturally  wean  them  from  the  pleasures  deriva- 
ble from  such  scenery,  to  avoid  feelings  akin  to  poetry 
while  winding  through  tlie  llwusand  Islands.  You  feel, 
indeed,  long  after  they  have  been  passed,  as  if  you  had 
been  awakened  out  of  a  blissful  dream.  Your  memory 
brings  up  again  and  again,  the  pictures  of  the  clusters  of 
the  little  Islands  rising  out  of  the  clear  cold  water.  You 
think  of  the  little  bays  uud  winding  passages,  embowered 
in  trees;  and  recurring  to  the  din,  and  dust,  and  heat,  and 
strife  of  the  City  you  have  left,  or  tha  City  you  are  going  to, 
you  wish  in  your  'leart  that  you  had  seen  more  of  Nature, 
and  less  of  lousiness. 

"These  may  be  but  dreams — perhaps  thev  are  so, — but 
thev  are  good  and  they  are  useful  dreams ;  for  they  brenk 
in  for  a  moment  upon  the  dull  monotony  of  our  all-ab- 
sorbing selfishness;  they  let  in  a  few  rays  of  li^ht  upon  the 
poetry  and  purity  of  sentiment  which  seem  likely  to  die 
of  perpetual  confinement  in  the  dark  prison-house  of  mod- 
ern avarice." 

REV.    PREDERIOK  JAMES  JOB80N. — (1857.) 

This  writer  was  born  at  Lincoln,  England,  in  1812,  and 


(i 


;  '^'Wf&Jjui&i^ 


I 


1  i 


»|h 


i 

'ii 


l> 


27-5 


i?^r.  i?:  /.  JOBSOK 


in  1834  he  entered  the  Wesleyan  Ministry,  in  which  he 
was  stationed  in  some  of  the  most  important  circuits  of  the 
Methodist  Conference.  He  was  also  appointed  by  the  Con- 
ference to  visit  tlie  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Ameri- 
ca, in  company  with  Dr.  Hannah.  Dr.  Jobson  has  filled 
some  of  the  most  important  posts  in  the  denomination  to 
which  he  belongs,  and  in  the  various  societies  that  are  un- 
der its  patronage.  He  is  the  author  of  several  devotional 
works  that  have  attained  success,  and  among  his  other 
publications  may  be  mentioned — "Chapel  and  School  iirch- 
itecture,"  (1850); — "America  and  American  Methodism," 
(1857);— and  "Australia,  with  Notes  by  the  Way  of  Egypt, 
Ceylon,  Bombay,  and  the  Holy  Land,"  (1862). 
This  description  of  this  voyage  is  as  follows:^ 

"We  left  the  Citj'^  and  our  friends  at  Toronto,  on  Tues- 
day at  noon,  June  3d,  by  the  steamer  which  was  to  carry 
us  over  the  length  of  Lake  Ontario,  through  the  Thousand 
Islands  and  by  the  S*  Lawrence,  to  Brockville,  where  we 
were  to  attend  the  Wesleyan  Conference  for  Western  Can 

O/^Q  W  ^f"  ^  'W'  7^  if  W 

"I  rose  before  five  o'clock  next  morning,  that  I  might 
view  the  'Thousand  Isles,'  as  a  number  of  islands  extend- 
ing from  the  foot  of  Lake  Ontario  thirty  miles  down  the 
St.  Lawrence  are  named.  Those  islanas,  are,  in  reality, 
more  than  1,600  in  number,  and  they  are  surprisingly  pic- 
turesque and  iovely.  They  are  of  various  sizes,  some  con- 
taining fifteen  acres,  and  others  only  just  visible,  and  bear- 
ing a  single  shrub,  and  they  are  of  every  form  imaginable. 
But  while  richly  adorned  with  trees  and  rocks,  they  have 
only  a  slight  elevation  above  the  water.  The  scenery  of 
these  Islands  while  threading  your  way  among  them,  with 
their  varied  shapes  and  colors,   and  with  -  their  clear  re- 

(1)  America  and  American  Methodism,  by  the  Rev.  Frede- 
rick J,  Jobson,  with  a  prefatory  Letter  by  the  Rev.  John 
Hannah,  D.D.     London,  1857. 


F.  J.  J0B80N:—B.  J.  L0S8IN0. 


179 


flections  in  the  surrounding  waters,  you  feel  to  be  exceed- 
ingly beautiful,  and  that  it  would  repay  a  voyage  from 
England  to  the  St.  Lawrence  to  gaze  upon  such  a  sight 
alone.  The  'Thousand  Island'  scenery  is  more  like  itil- 
larney  than  any  that  I  have  seen,  but  it  is  much  more  ex- 
tensive. In  steering  through  these  isles  it  is  an  ever- 
changing  vision — at  one  time  you  are  inclosed  in  a  narrow 
channel,  then  you  see  before  you  many  openings,  like  so 
many  noble  rivers  flowing  in  different  directions,  and  im- 
mediately afterwards  you  are  surrounded  on  every  side  as 
by  a  spacious  Lake. " 

BENSON  J.  LOSSING. — (1850-1860.) 

This  well  known  historical  writer  has  many  allusions  to 
the  Upper  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  events  with  which  they 
are  associated.  While  collecting  materials  for  is  "Picto- 
ral  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,"  he  passed  up  the  Kiver 
by  Steamer,  in  the  summer  of  1850,  and  thus  records  his 
impressions  of  the  scenery  : 

"A  calm,  sweetly  consonant  with  ideas  of  Sabbath  rest, 
was  upon  the  main,  the  Islands,  and  the  River,  and  all  the 
day  long  net  a  breath  of  air  rippk  1  the  silent-flowing,  but 
mighty  St.  Lawrence.  We  passed  the  morning  in  alter- 
nately viewing  the  ever-changing  scene  as  our  vessel  sped 
towards  Ontario,  and  in  perusing  Burke's  'Essay  on  the 
Sublime  and  Beautiful.'  I  never  read  that  charming  pro- 
duction with  so  much  pleasure  as  then,  for  illustrative  ex- 
amples were  on  every  side.  And  when,  towards  noon,  our 
course  was  among  the  Thousand  Islands,  the  propriety  of 
the  stars  as  an  example,  by  their  number  and  confusion,  of 
the  cause  of  the  idea  of  sublimity,  was  forcibly  illustrated. 
'The  apparent  disorder,' he  sajvs,  'augments  the  grandeur, 
for  the  appearance  of  care  is  highly  contrary  to  our  idea  of 
magnificence.'  So  with  these  Islands.  They  fill  the  St. 
Lawrence  through  nearly  sixty  miles  of  its  course,  com- 
mencing fifteen  miles  below  Kingston,  and  varying  in  size 
from  a  few  yards  to  eighteen  miles  in  length.  Some  are 
mere  syenitic  rocks,  bearing  sufficient  alluvium  to  pro- 
duce cedar,  spiuce  and  pine  shrubs,  which  seldom  grow  to 
the  dignity  of  a  tree,  while  others  were  beautifully  fringed 
with  luxuriant  grass  and  shaded  by  lofty  trees.     A  few  of 


\l 


m^ 


B.  J.  L08SINO. 


the  larger  are  inhabited  and  cultivated.  There  are  twelve 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  in  number.  Viewed  separately, 
they  present  nothing  remarkable;  but  scattered,  as  they 
are,  so  profusely  and  in  such  disorder  over  the  bosom  of 
the  River,  their  features  constantly  changing  as  we  made 
our  rapid  way  among  them,  an  idea  of  magnificence  and 
sublimity  involuntarily  possessed  the  mind,  and  wooed  our 
attention  from  the  tuition  of  books  to  that  of  Nature. " — 
{Field  Book  of  the  Resolution,  i,  314.) 

Again,  ten  years  later,  while  preparing  his  "Field  Book 

of  the  "War  of  1812,"  in  referring  to  the  Islands,  he  says: 

"This  group  of  Islands,  lying  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  just 
below  the  foot  of  Lake  Ontario,  fill  that  River  for  twenty- 
seven  miles  along  its  course,  and  number  more  than  fifteen 
hundred.  A  few  of  them  are  large  and  cultivated,  but 
most  of  them  are  mere  rocky  islets,  covered  generally  with 
stunted  hemlocks  and  cedar  trees,  which  extend  to  the 
water's  edge.  Some  of  them  contain  an  area  of  only  a  few 
square  yards,  while  others  present  many  superficial  square 
miles.  Canoes  and  small  boats  may  pass  in  safety  among 
all  of  them,  and  there  is  a  deep  *^  liannel  for  Steamboats  and 
other  large  vessels,  which  never  varies  in  depth  and  posi- 
tion, the  bottom  being  rocky.  The  St.  Lawrence  here 
varies  from  two  to  nine  miles  in  width.  The  boundary- 
line  between  the  United  States  and  Canada  passes  among 
them.  It  was  determined  in  1818.  The  largest  of  the 
Islands  are  Grand  and  Howe,  belonging  to  Canada,  and 
Carleton,  Grindstone  and  Wells,  belonging  to  the  United 
States.  They  have  been  the  theatre  of  many  historic 
scenes  and  legendary  tales  during  two  centuries  and  a 
half." 

JOURNEY  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES.— (1860.) 

In  1860,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  (known  while  in  the  United 
States  as  Baron  Renfrew)  accompanied  by  His  Grace,  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle,  Secretary  of  State  lor  the  Colonies — 
the  Earl  of  St.  Germains,  Steward  to  the  Queen's  House- 
hold— Major-General  Bruce,  Governor  to  the  Prince — Dr. 
Ackland,  the    Prince's   Physician— Major   Teesdale   and 


i 


JOURNEY  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES.     181 

Captain  Grey,  the  Prince's  Equerries,  and  Mr.  Engleherst, 
Private  Secretary  to  tlie  Duke  of  Newcastle,  traveled 
through  portions  of  the  Diiited  States  and  Canada,  He 
was  everywhere  received  by  the  officials  of  both  countries 
with  the  honors  due  to  his  rank.  Besides  those  properly 
belonging  to  his  suite,  were  several  correspondents  of  news- 
papers, who  kept  the  public  informed  of  the  incidents  of 
«/he  journey,  and  several  books  were  soon  after  published, 
giving  these  in  a  collected  form.  We  present  extracts  from 
two  of  these  works,  one  by  a  correspondent  of  the  New 
York  Herald,  and  the  other  by  the  writer  representing  the 
London  Times.  The  Prince  after  visiting  Lower  Canada, 
proceeded  to  Ottawa,  and  laid  the  corner  stone  of  the  new 
Parliament  Buildings  of  what  has  since  become  the  Domin- 
ion Government.  From  thence  he  proceeded  to  Brock- 
ville,  where  he  took  passage  on  board  the  Steamer  Kingston 
and  passed  through  this  part  of  the  St.  Lawrence  on  the  3d 
of  September,  1860. 

At  Kingston  the  Orangemen  had  prepared  to  join  in  the 
reception  of  the  Prince,  in  their  regalia,  justifying  them- 
selves in  this  by  alleging  that  the  Catholics  in  Lower  Can- 
ada had  been  recognized  upon  similar  occasions.  Tho 
Duke  of  Newcastle  addressed  a  letter  to  the  City  officials, 
requesting  them  to  prevent  these  partisan  demonstrations, 
but  neither  party  appeared  willing  to  yield,  and  after  wait- 
ing nearly  a  day,  the  Steamer  proceeded  on  Its  way  up  the 
Bay  without  landing.  At  Belleville  a  similar  event  hap- 
pened, and  at  Toronto  a  serious  misunderstanding  arose 
from  like  causes. 


■  /! 


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m     JOURNEY  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

Reception  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  as  descHbed  by  Kinahan 
Cormcallis,  Correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald. 

The  letters  of  this  writer,  were  afterwards  collected  in 

book  form.  ^     The  party  arrived  at  the  railway  station  by 

the  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  where  our  extract  begins  ; 

"  At  twenty  minutes  to  eight,  the  train  entered  Brock- 
ville ;  there  the  greatest  crowd  that  Brockville  ever  gath- 
ered was  seen  at  the  railway  station. 

"On  stepping  on  the  platform,  the  cheering  prevented 
anything  else  being  heard  for  several  minutes ;  but  when 
this  burst  of  joy  and  welcome  had  subsided,  the  Mayor 
of  the  Town,  accompanied  by  several  members  of  the 
Common  Council,  advanced  and  read  an  address,  to  which 
His  Royal  Highness  replied.  The  Prince  was  conducted 
to  his  carriage,  in  which  he  took  his  seat  beside  the  Gov- 
ernor-General, with  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 
on  the  opposite  seat.  A  torch-light  procession  of  the  fire- 
men and  others  was  in  waiting,  and  a  general  illumination 
had  the  effect,  in  the  midst  of  the  triumphal  arches  and 
other  evergreen  and  floral  decorations,  of  lending  a  species 
of  fairy  enchantment  to  the  scene,  which  was  one  of  the 
prettiest  I  have  ever  seen — far  more  so  than  that  of  the 
great  Japanese  Ball.  The  flaming  torches  in  the  back- 
ground, the  exploding  rockets  high  above,  the  brilliant 
transparencies  spanning  the  streets,  the  Chinese  lanterns 
swinging  from  roofs,  and  windows,  and  arches,  the  distant 
bonfires,  the  ringing  church  bells,  and  the  ringing  cheers, 
combined  to  make  a  spectacle  as  brilliant  as  it  was  ex- 
citing. The  procession  then  moved  forward  towards  the 
Steamer  Kingston  at  the  wharf, — the  firemen  and  other 
torch-bearers  following  in  the  rear,  and  were  saluted  with 
fireworks  that  lent  a  terribly  lurid  aspect  to  the  whole,  at 
every  point  of  their  progress. 

"The  display  was  highly  creditable  to  the  towns-people, 
many  of  whom,  however,  went  home  very  much  disap- 
pointed at  having  been  unable  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
royal  visitor. 

(1)  Royalty  in  the  Neio  World,  or  the  Prince  of  Wales  in 
America.    New  York,  1860;  12  mo.,  pp.  288. 


JOURNEY  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES.     183 


m 


"On  the  next  morning,  the  Prince  appeared  on  the 
Steamer's  deck  at  nine  o'clock,  and  being  recognized 
by  those  on  shore,  there  was  great  cheering.  The 
Steamer  being  anchored  a  sliort  distance  mid-stream, 
•was  surrounded  by  numerous  boats  filled  with  those 
eager  to  see  him.  At  a  quarter  to  eleven,  he  grati- 
fied a  general  wish  by  coming  ashore  in  a  small  boat,  and 
driving  through  the  principal  streets  of  the  Town.  All 
the  resources  of  the  place  were  taxed  to  provide  carriages 
for  the  party,  and  with  tolerable  success,  although  there 
was  a  great  want  of  uniformity  in  the  size,  color  and 
shape  of  the  vehicles  and  horses  enlisted  in  the  service. 
The  Prince  took  his  place  in  an  open  carriage  by  the  side 
of  the  Governor-General,  while  the  Duke  of  Newcastle 
and  Earl  of  St.  Germains  sat  opposite.  Lord  Lyons  and  the 
suite  followed  in  Separate  carriages.  The  streets  were 
very  dusty,  owing  partly  to  the  crowd  that  ran  alongside 
ana  before  and  behind  tli.'  Prince's  carriage,  which  was 
guarded  by  the  policemen,  one  at  either  side,  armed  with 
batons.  The  royal  party  had  to  keep  their  eyes  shut  for 
a  while,  but  afterward  the  clouds  diminished,  both  in  vol- 
ume and  density.     The  drive  lasted  about  half  an  hour. 

"At  twenty  minutes  past  twelve,  the  Kingston  steamed 
away,  and  in  a  few  minutes  afterward  was  pursuing  her 
course  cimong  the  Thousand  Islands. 

"The  weather  was  fortunately  warm  and  sunny, 
and  the  granite  Islands  were  seen  to  great  advan 
tage.  There  Nature  appeared  to  have  fancifully  prepared 
a  grand  proscenium  to  feast  the  travellers'  eyes,  for  nothing 
could  have  exceeded  in  singularity  the  scene  that  presented 
itself.  The  mighty  St.  Lawrence — the  *  Iroquois '  of  the  red 
man — here,  in  ages  long  elapsed,  urged  its  vexed  waters, 
before  pent  up  in  the  vast  inland  basin  of  North  America, 
against  that  portion  of  the  primitive  barrier  which  visibly 
extends  from  the  granite  mountains  of  the  East  over  to 
the  dividing  ridge  between  the  wild  regions  of  Hudson's 
Bay  and  the  tributary  waters  of  the  Ottawa  and  St.  Law- 
rence; and  here,  by  some  tremendous  effort,  which  has 
evidently  shaken  the  whole  country  from  Kingston,  at  the 
eastern  extremity  of  Lake  Ontario,  to  the  other  side  of  the 
region  through  which  the  granite  ridge  pursues  its  north- 
westerly course,  the  River  has  at  one  time  rushed  over  a 
sheet  of  cascades  and  rapids  miles  in  breadth,  but  which 


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m     JOURNEY  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

have  long  disappeared  under  the  wearing  influence  of  time. 
Island  succeeded  Island,  group  succeeded  group,  till  the 
eye  almost  wearied  of  the  succession.  Most  of  these  were 
beautifully  wooded,  and  many  of  them  so  low  and  flat  as 
to  suggest  to  the  mind  the  tranquil  prospect  of  an  Italian 
lagoon.  Others  again  were  split  and  rent  into  a  variety 
of  fantastic  forms,  forming  views  of  peculiar  wildness. 
A  turn  of  the  channel  disclosed  a  new  labyrinth,  while  we 
passed  under  a  dark  wall  of  rock,  coated  with  moss  and 
lichens  that  had  likely  flourished  there  for  generations, 
and  from  whose  bare  and  rugged  top  the  hoary  flr  lifted  its 
sombre  head.  Further  on,  a  Light-House  stood  perched  on 
a  rock,  and  further,  still  another.  All  was  still  and  lonely 
— the  cerulean  vault  above,  the  tranquil  tide  belov, — the  sun- 
shine over  all.  Was  the  poetry  of  the  scene  felt  by  that 
fair  young  man  gazing  so  calmly,  so  thoughtfully,  upon  it 
from  the  deck  of  that  Steamer,  over  which  the  rich  tints 
of  a  Prince  of  Wales'  standard  flaunted  in  the  sun?  If  I 
were  a  novelist,  I  would  say,  *  Yes. ' 

"Then  another  fairy  picture  presented  itself  in  groves, 
growing,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  water,  and  seeming  to  bar 
our  further  progress,  till  suddenly  the  sylvan  curtain  was 
withdrawn,  and  the  eye  wandered  over  a  wide  sweep  of 
water,  dotted  here  and  there  with  a  few  small  rocks,  and 
bounded  by  the  endless  forest  of  the  main-land.  Towns 
and  villages  were  meanwhile  passed  on  either  shore,  and 
once  a  lonely  fisherman  was  seen  practising  his  gentle  art 
in  a  small  row-boat.  The  Islands  extended  the  whole  way 
from  Brockville  to  Kingston,  but  the  most  compact  cluster 
was  seen  in  front  of  Alexandria  Bay.  Here  the  view  was 
exquisite.  A  wide  expanse  of  River  reposed,  mirror-like, 
beneath  the  rich  Autumnal  sky,  and  this  sheet  of  water 
reflected  the  forms  of  an  assemblage  of  Islets  of  the  most 
picturesque,  diversified  and  inviting  aspect;  here  a  naked 
crag,  there  a  majestic  bouquet,  yonder  a  clump  of  trees, 
or  a  perfect  Island  supporting  a  solitary  stem.  Such  happy 
confusion,  such  an  indiscriminate  sprinkling  of  all  shapes 
and  sizes  and  varieties  of  vegetation,  was  unique  in  the 
extreme. 

"  As  we  neared  Kingston,  after  leaving  Brockville,  the 
channel  by  which  we  had  advanced,  and  which  was  formed 
by  Loi.g  Island,  on  the  borders  of  which  were  several 
Islets,   and  by  the  main-land,  Pittsburgh  and  K.agston, 


ipes 
the 


JOURNEY  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES.     185 

gradually  widened.     Tliese   were   well  wooded,   and  the 
larger  one  disclosed  several  neat  farms. 

"Further  on,  appeared  the  strong  fortification  crowning 
the  Promontory  of  Point  Henry,  about  a  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  Lake,  for  liere  Ontario  and  the  St. 
Lawrence  meet." 

The  Thousand  Islands  as  described  by  N.  A.    Woods,  Cor- 
resjiondent  of  the  London  Times.  ^ — The  Isle  of  Dogs. 

After  pleasantly  discoursing  of  the  Rapids  of  the  lower 
St.  Lawrence  which  appeared  after  all  to  be  not  very  dif- 
ficult to  descend,  and  no  great  affair,  notwithstanding  all 
that  had  been  said  of  their  awful  grandeur,  he  remarks: 

"This  language  is  dreadful  guide-book  heresy,  of  course, 
but  the  w^orst  is  j'et  to  come.  Canadians  tell  you  that  if 
there  is  anything  better  worth  seeing  than  the  Rapids,  it  is 
the  Thousand  Islands,  which  dot  the  surface  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  just  where  Lake  Ontario  and  the  River  com- 
mence. Here,  y  )u  are  told  the  rich  grandeur  of  the  Hud- 
son, the  luxuriance  of  the  Bosphorus,  the  wild,  stern  mag- 
nificence of  the  Saguenay,  and,  for  aught  you  hear  to  the 
contrary,  the  flowing  beauty  of  the  Euphrates  in  Spring, 
may  all  be  met  with. 

"  It  is  a  trying  thing  to  have  to  contend  against  such  no- 
tions; but  if  an  individual  opinion  is  worth  anything, I  must 
unhesitatingly  give  mine,  that  these  Thousand  Islands  are 
in  their  way  a  delusion  and  a  snare,  and  will  as  much  bear 
comparison  with  the  Hudson  or  the  Sagnenay,  or  the  Bos- 
phorus, as  the  Thames  below  Blackwall.  Take  slips  of  the 
Isle  of  Dogs  of  all  sizes,  from  an  island  as  large  as  a  foot- 
stool, up  to  ten  or  twelve  acres;  plant  the  larger  ones  with 
stunted  firs;  strew  the  little  ones  over  with  broken  stones  as 
if  they  were  about  to  be  macadamized,  put  them  near  the 
surface  of  Uie  water  in  a  mechanical  dis-a,rraugiug  con- 
fusion wit'aout  picturesqueness,  and  number  without  varie- 
ty,— imagine  them  choking  the  highway  of  a  noble  River, 
and  you  can  fancy  yourself  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  in 
the  middle  of  the  far-famed  Thousand  Isles." 

(1)  The  Prince  of  Wales  in  Canada  and  tlie  United  States, 
London,  1861.     12  mo.,  pp.  438. 
12 


186    JOURNEY  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

It  appears  a  few  pages  further  on,  that  the  writer  of  the 
above  extract,  took  the  railroad  from  Brockville  to  King- 
ston, nor  does  it  anywhere  appear  that  he  saw  the  River  at 
any  point  between  these  two  places.  His  recipe  for  mak- 
ing "Thousand  Islands,"  will  therefore  very  probably  be 
classed  with  the  prescriptions  of  the  quack,  who  might  re- 
commend an  un-tried  remedy,  for  a  patient  he  had  never 
seen. 

To  better  appreciate  his  brilliant  comparison,  we  should 
remember  that  this  Isle  of  Dogs  lies  in  a  bend  in  the 
Thames,  within  live  miles  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  London. 
It  consists  of  some  600  acres,  and  a  part  of  it  covered  with 
steam-factories,  chain-cable  works  and  other  establishments 
incident  to  the  commerce  and  industries  of  the  great  me- 
tropolis, while  much  of  the  remainder  is  covered  seven  feet 
deep  at  every  high  tide.  Out  of  such  materials  this  pleas- 
ant writ<>r  requests  his  readers  to  construct  the  ideal  of  the 
Thousand  Islands  of  the  St.  Lawrence ! 

FRANCIS  DUNCANSON.^ — (1863.) 

This  writer  was  much  devoted  to  literary  and  scientific 

inquiries.     In  speaking  of  the  Islands,  he  says  : 

"The  Thousand  Islands,  as  they  are  called,  occupied  no 
small  portion  of  a  day  in  passing;  and  even  at  this  distance 
of  time,  that  vision  of  beauty  rises  before  my  mind  with  a 
clearness  and  vigor,  such  as  attend  the  impressions  left  on 

(1)  Our  Oarrisons  in  the  West,  or  Sketches  in  British  North 
America.  By  Francis  Duncanson,  M.  A.  Fellow  of  the 
Geological  Society;  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society; 
Member  of  Colonies  Committee,  Society  of  Arts;  D.  C.  L. 
Kind's  College,  N.  S.  Lieutenant,  Royal  Artillery.  London, 
1864. 


F.  DUNC ANSON. 


187 


the  mind  of  childhood  by  startling  events  of  great  joy  or 
sorrow.  Could  one  imagine  a  beautiful  dream  or  poem 
realized  in  nature,  one  could  more  easily  conceive  this  mar- 
velous scene.  There  are  passages  in  Tennyson  which  re- 
mind one  of  these  Islands,  and  in  some  of  our  Scottish 
Lakes,  they  are  faintly  shadowed  fortlj,  but  not  Helen's 
Isle  can  approach  in  beauty  the  simplest  of  these  bright 
jewels,  which  are  so  profusely  scattered  over  the  surface 
of  this  proud  River. 

"Truly  the  beauties  of  that  day  were  a  brighter  dream 
than  one  could  hope  to  dream  in  slumber.  Our  vessel,  as 
it  threaded  its  way  through  the  maze  of  Islands,  almost 
touched  their  steep  green  sides,  and  the  branches  of  the 
trees  which  crowned  them  altaost  brushed  us,  as  we  leaned 
over  the  bulwarks  in  silent  admiration.  There  were  many 
varieties  of  water-fowl  in  the  River  around  us;  but  not  the 
least  pleasing  part  of  the  picture  was  the  utter  wildness  of 
the  Islands,  and  the  absence  of  any  signs  of  man's  handi- 
work or  habitation, — the  untouched  purity  of  their  pristine 
beauty — for  there  is  a  strange  calm  comes  over  man  as  he 
finds  himself  with  Nature  alone. 

"Now,  to  many  this  idea  will  be  designated  by  the  title 
'bosh.'  Your  eminently  practical  man  will  say^  that  a 
turnip-field  is  a  far  more  picturesque  and  soothmg  sight 
than  a  bramble-covered  rock ;  and,  buttoning  up  his  pock- 
ets, will  say  that,  for  his  part,  he  always  considers  senti- 
mentality and  swindling  as  twin-brothers.  Your  imagina- 
tive friend  of  another  class,  that  class,  I  mean,  who  have 
but  one  idea,  one  care,  and  one  study,  and  that  is  'ego' — 
will  say  that  'Haw!  for  their  part,  haw!  This  sort  of  thing 
was  all  doosed  fine  in  books,  but  haw !  my  dear  fellow  1 
where  do  j^ou  get  your  gloves?'  And  pretty  little  Minnie, 
she  will  say,  clapping  her  hands:  'Oh!  ma-ma!  what  a 
charming  place  for  a  pic-nic  I  and  I  could  wear  that  new 
muslin,  and  the  hat  that  Charles  liked  so  much,  and  you 
could  put  your  dear  old  feet  in  rubbers,  and  we  should 
have  such  a  hamper!  But  oh!  it  would  be  so  stupid  with- 
out some  gentlemen;  so  I  am  afraid  we  should  have  to 
make  these  dear  Island«  "man's  habitation"  for  an  afternoon, 
at  any  rate!' 

"Well,  in  answer  to  all  this,  I  have  merely  got  to  say, 
that  if  I  could  get  these  two  gentlemen  and  the  charming 
Minnie  on  board  a  River  steamer  in  the  Thousand  Islands, 


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I  would  wager  that,  for  half  an  hour  at  least,  Mr.  Consols 
would  CGv^se  to  be  practical,  Mr.  Butterfly  would  feel  tight- 
enii^g  across  the  chest  different  from  any  ever  produced  Ly 
a  tailor's  mis-flt,  and  even  chattering  little  Minnie  would  be 
quiet  for  a  minute  or  two,  and  forget  that  such  a  thing  as 
muslin  existed  in  the  world. 

"There  were  many  hard-looking  men  on  board  with  me 
that  day,  and  many  of  the  other  sex  whose  hearts  had 
been  sadly  tried  by  this  life's  worry  and  the  cares  of  daily 
bread,  which  look  so  small  on  paper,  but  which  are  sad 
things  for  aging  us,  and  knocking  the  romance  out  of  our 
nature.  But  I  doubt  if  there  was  one  among  them  all  who 
did  not  feel  softened  by  the  scenery  around  us;  whose  face 
did  not  lose  for  a  moment  the  look  of  anxious  worry,  and 
wear  something  approaching  the  calm,  placid  look,  which 
Death  leaves  when  he  draws  away  the  soul.  All  their  souls 
had  gone  out,  as  with  a  great  longing  to  Nature  the  Great 
Mother,  as  a  lost  and  weary  child  falls  on  the  loving  mater- 
nal bosom  which  yearns  over  her  re-found  treasure.  And 
in  some  eyes,  whose  daily  sparkle  is  due  to  keen  hard  love 
of  gair, — I  am  not  sure  I  did  not  see  a  tear.  You  have 
seen,  reader,  in  a  crowded  festive  room,  one  quiet  pensive 
face,  whose  spirit  is  far  away  in  thought,  and  whose  owner 
is  for  the  time  all  unconscious  of  the  throng,  and  the 
music,  and  the  dance.  So  on  the  deck  of  that  plodding 
Steamer,  we  stood  giving  our  souls  out  in  unconscious  love 
and  admiration  of  the  beauty  before  us,  and  recking  not 
that  we  were  units  in  a  motley  crowd  of  passengers. 

"In  the  prairie  territories  of  America,  there  is  experi- 
enced by  the  traveller  and  the  hunter  a  strange  sensation 
which  has  been  called  the  Prairie  Fever.  It  is  a  sweet  and 
exhilarating  feeling,  absorbing  for  a  time  all  recollection  of 
the  past,  and  killing  all  anxiety  about  the  future.  It  is  a 
maddening  enjoyment  of  the  present,  arising  from  light- 
ened spirits,  and  the  grandeur  of  surrounding  nature.  In 
the  more  settled  parts  of  the  continent,  where  the  advances 
of  civilization  have  furrowed  the  wild  meadows,  and  the 
flowery  prairie  is  wrinkled  with  the  cares  of  toil,  yet  in  the 
Forest  and  on  the  Lakes,  something  approaching  to  this  feel- 
ing is  entertained.  In  tracing  out  the  origin  of  this  state 
of  mind,  a  metaphysician  might  discover  properties  and 
faculties  of  whose  existence  he  was  not  formerly  aware. 
We  doubt  whether  any  mental  philosopher  has  devoted  his 


F.  LUNCANSOK 


189 


attention  to  this  subject;  or,  if  he  has,  whether  he  has  not 
merely  attributed  it  to  some  excitement  of  the  perception 
of  the  sublime  and  beautiful. 

"But  may  it  not  be  otherwise?  Is  it  rash  to  say  that 
away  in  great  solitudes,  fresh  from  the  Creator's  hand — 
where  man's  toil  has  not  defaced,  nor  his  dullness  polluted 
— the  mental  faculties  may  acquire  a  higher  power  over  the- 
body,  and  somewhat  loosen  his  faculties?  Is  it  rash  to  say 
that  in  the  flowers  of  God's  garden,  in  the  trees  and  rocks: 
of  his  untouched  mountains,  there  may  be  left  an  impress 
of  His  hand  which  affects  the  spirit  of  his  creature?  As 
the  sound  of  the  trumpet  inspires  the  old  and  weary  war- 
horse,  or  the  strains  of  some  melody  heard  in  youth  affects 
the  hardened  sinner  in  the  midst  of  crimes,  may  not  the 
music  of  nature,  pure  and  fresh  from  God,  inspire  in  some 
way  the  soul  of  man  ? 

"Thou  hts  of  God's  Majesty,  and  of  infinity,  make  our 
giddy  brains  reel;  yet  with  these  same  spirits,  we  are  to 
enjoy  or  endure  eternity.  Must  there  not.  then,  be  some 
latent  faculty,  which  when  the  soul  is  freed  from  the  body, 
shall  better  comprehend  all  these ;  and  which,  even  now, 
at  odd  times,  in  disease  or  delirium — as  of  old  in  inspira- 
tion— throw  glimpses  into  us  of  the  mighty  unknown  and 
unfathomed  ? 

"May  not  prophecy  or  inspiration  be  merely  the  momen- 
tary loosening  of  this  mortal  coil,  to  let  some  mysterious 
dormant  faculty  have  play?  And  may  not  some  such 
loosening  come  by  the  sudden  sight  and  enjoyment  of  a 
portion  of  God's  works,  as  they  lie  before  our  vision,  fresh 
and  unsullied  ? 


'  'But  this  sort  of  thing  must  be  put  a  stop  to ;  once  let  a 
Scotchman  back  to  his  metaphysics,  and  you  require  a 
heavy  bit  to  hold  him.  O,  outraged  public!  you  shall  be 
that  bit ;  so,  after  this  specimen  of  what  the  Yankees  would 
call  'high-filutin'  composition,  (I  don't  answer  for  the 
spelling)  I  shall  come  back  from  mental  faculties  and  prai- 
ries to  my  camp-stool  on  the  deck  of  the  river  Steamer. 

"Let  me  look  back  and  see  where  I  was  when  I  mounted 
my  metaphysical  Pegasus.  I  see,  yes;  we  had  alluded  to 
some  water-fowl.  Now,  considering  the  dearth  of  ornitho- 
logical life  in  American  forests,  to  which  we  allude  in  a 


iil 


IN 


1  I 


1: 


190 


PROFESSOR  GAPELLINI. 


fonner  chapter,  are  not  the  least  pleasing  part  of  the  picture 
we  studied.  I  have  often  thought  that  the  Traus- Atlantic 
woods  realize  beautifully  in  one  respect,  what  England  will 
be,  when — according  to  terrified  correspondents  of  the 
IHmes — the  small  boys  shall  have  shot  the  last  sparrow." 


ii|i  . 


GIOVANNI  CAPELLINI.^ — (1863.) 

This  Italian  Savan,  who  is  now  a  professor  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Bologna,  was  attracted  to  this  country  as  a 
prominent  field  for  geological  observation.  He  is  at  the 
time  of  this  writing  actively  engaged  as  President  of  the 
Committee  of  Organization  of  an  International  Geological 
Congress,  that  is  to  hold  its  session  at  Bologna  in  1881.  He 
published  in  his  native  language  after  his  return  to  Italy, 
his  impressions  of  travel,  and  in  connection  with  this  part 
of  his  route,  an  engraving  of  a  point  of  view  in  the  Thou- 
sand Islands. 

He  had  previously  viewed  the  principal  cabinets,  and 

had  met  the  Professors  of  his  science  iu  Boston  and  its 

vicinity — had  passed  from  thence  to  Quebec — had  diverged 

to  Lake  Champlain  on  hi>   journey  up  the  River,  and  from 

thence  arriving  at  Ogdensburgh,  he  took  passage  for  the 

West,    His  journal  then  says : 

"On  the  7th  of  September,  I  left  Ogdensburgh  by  steam- 
boat for  Lake  Ontario,  about  noon,  and  in  two  or  three 
hours,  we  had  the  grand  spectacle  of  the  Thousand  Islands, 
that  form  as  it  were  a  k^^byrinth,  on  the  besom  of  the  Lake. 
The  St.  Lawrence,  which  had  appeared  narrowed  for  some 
distance  above  Ogdensburgh,  here  began  to  expand,  and 
spread  itself  out  into  a  multitude  of  channels,  worn  through 

(1)  Ricordi  di  un  Viaggio  Scientifico  nell  America  Setten- 
trionaU  net  MDCCCLXIII,Del  Prof  Cm  Oiovanni  Gapellini. 
Bologna,  1867,  8  vc,  pp.  284. 


PROF.  CAPELLINI.'-W.  D.  HO  WELLS.       IH 


the  oldest  of  granites.  Some  of  the  islets  scarcely  arose 
above  the  surface,  while  others  were  some  thirty  metres  in 
height,  and  were  clothed  with  pines,  firs,  birches,  maples 
and  beeches  of  moderate  size,  but  presenting  a  scene  most 
diversified  in  form,  and  constantly  changing  as  we  passed 
along.  To  me,  as  I  was  most  anxiously  looking  for  some- 
thing that  would  remind  me  of  Italy,  a  part  cf  this  laby- 
rinth presented  a  scene  not  unlike  that  of  the  lagoons  of 
Venetla. 

"  As  darkness  came  on,  the  occasional  gleams  of  quiet 
lamp-light  from  the  windows  of  the  farm  houses  along  the 
shore,  or  scattered  here  and  there  upon  the  Islands,  or  the 
vivid  splendor  of  a  Light-House,  would  cast  their  long  re- 
flected beams  upon  the  waters,  which,  when  lightly  rip- 
pled by  the  approach  of  the  Steamer,  appeared  like  ser- 
§ents  of  fire,  swimming  toward  the  shore.  As  our  colossal 
teamer,  the  Ontario,  pressed  rapidly  forward  through  the 
winding  channel  of  the  Islands,  we  passed  a  little  Island 
where  a  party  of  fishermen  had  built  a  fire,  and  were  busy 

Sreparing  a  supper  from  the  proceeds  of  the  labors  of  the 
ay.  A  vessel,  with  its  long-spreading,  square-sail,  lay 
idly  floating  near  the  shore,  secured  to  the  trunk  of  an 
aged  fir,  while  the  dark  shadows  of  the  forest  cast  a  gloom 
over  the  spot,  reflecting  the  flames  that  appeared  to  conceal 
rather  than  illuminate  the  scene,  and  presenting  a  picture 
that  no  painter  could  reproduce. 

"At  a  later  hour  in  the  evening,  a  cone  of  reddish  light 
appeared  on  the  horizon,  that  came  from  a  burning  forest, 
which  often  in  this  region,  for  months  together,  will  illum- 
inate the  night  and  darken  the  day  with  their  spreading 
flames  and  clouds  of  smoke,  causing  vast  destruction  in 
regions  where  colonization  has  already  begun.  Amid  these 
scenes  of  light  in  the  darkness,  the  moon  alone  was  want- 
ing to  shed  its  crowning  glory  over  the  Thousand  Isles. 
When  the  morning  came,  we  had  already  passed  Oswego, 
and  were  speeding  onward  toward  our  next  landing  at 
Charlotte." 

W.    D.    HO  WELLS. — (1872.) 

'  In  a  pleasant  little  Romance,  full  of  wit  and  sentiment, 
this  writer  describes  the  ideal  incidents  of  a  journey  over 
some  of  the  more  fashionable  routes  of  northwn  traip^. 


II 


ii^ 


i 

I 

J 


J9e 


W.  D.  HO  WELLS. 


1-11  .«£- 


with  a  fidelity  that  proves  his  personal  familiarity  with 
the  localities  described.  *  The  romantic  couple,  whose  ad- 
ventures he  is  describing,  had  come  from  Niagara,  and  had 
just  left  the  landing  at  Kingston,  where  our  extract  begins: 

"Kingston  has  romantic  memories  of  being  Fort  Fron- 
tenac  two  hundred  years  ago ;  of  Count  Frontenac's  splen- 
did advent  among  the  Indians;  of  the  brave  La  Salle,  who 
turned  its  wooden  walls  to  stone ;  of  wars  with  the  savages 
and  then  with  the  New  York  Colonists,  whom  the  French 
and  their  allies  harried  from  this  point;  of  the  destruction 
of  La  Salle's  fort  in  the  old  French  war ;  and  of  final  sur- 
render a  few  years  later  to  the  English.  It  is  as  pictur- 
esque as  it  is  historical.  All  about  the  City,  the  shores  are 
beautifully  wooded,  and  there  are  many  lovely  Islands — 
the  first,  indeed,  of  those  Thousand  Islands  with  which 
the  head  of  the  St.  Lawrence  is  filled,  and  among  which 
the  Steamer  was  presently  threading  her  way.  They  are 
as  charming,  and  still  almost  as  wild  as  when,  in  1673, 
Frontenac's  flotilla  of  canoes  passed  through  their  laby- 
rinth, and  issued  upon  the  Lake.  Save  for  a  Light-House 
upon  one  of  them,  there  is  almost  nothing  to  show  that 
the  foot  of  man  has  ever  pressed  the  thin  grass  clinging  to 
their  rocky  surfaces,  and  keeping  its  green  in  the  eternal 
shadow  of  their  pines  and  cedars.  In  the  warm  morning 
light  they  gathered  or  dispersed  before  the  advancing  vessel, 
which  some  of  them  almost  touched  with  the  plumage  of 
their  evergreens;  and  where  none  of  them  were  large,some 
of  them  were  so  small  that  it  would  not  have  been  too 
bold  to  figure  them  as  a  vaster  race  of  water-birds  assem- 
bling and  separating  in  her  course.  It  is  curiously  affect- 
ing to  find  them  so  unclaimed  yet  from  the  solitude  of  the 
vanished  wilderness,  and  scarcely  touched  even  by  tradi- 
dition.  But  for  the  interest  left  them  by  the  French,  these 
tiny  Islands  have  scarcely  any  associations,  and  must  be 
enjoyed  for  their  beauty  alone.  There  is  about  them  a 
faint  light  of  legend  concerning  the  Canadian  rebellion  of 
1837,  for  several  '  Patriots '  are  said  to  have  taken  refuge 
amidst  their  lovely  multitude ;  but  this  episode  of  modern 

(1)  Their  Weddiny  Journey.  By  W.  D.  Howells,  author 
of  "Venetian  Life,"  Italian  Journeys,"  etc.  With  illustra- 
tions by  Augustus  Hoppin.    Boston,  1872. 


ii  )■ 


■■^•'^ 


jrn 


NEW  TORE  EDITORS'  ASSOCIATION.       193 

history  is  diflScult  for  the  imagination  to  manage,  and 
somehow  one  does  not  take  sentimentally  even  to  that 
daughter  of  a  lurking  '  Patriot,'  who  long  baffled  her  father's 
pursuers  by  rowing  him  from  one  Island  to  another,  and 
supplying  him  with  food  by  night. 

"  Either  the  reluctance  is  from  the  natural  desire  that  so 
recent  a  heroine  should  be  founded  on  fact,  or  it  is  mera 
perverseness.  Perhaps  I  ought  to  say,  in  justice  to  her, 
that  it  was  one  of  her  own  sex  who  refused  to  be  interested 
in  her,  and  forbade  Basil  to  care  for  her.  When  he  had 
read  of  her  exploit  from  the  guide-book,  Isabel  asked  him 
if  he  had  noticed  that  handsome  girl  in  the  blue  and 
striped  Garibaldi  and  Swiss  hat,  that  had  come  aboard  at 
Kingston. " 

VISIT  OP  THE  editors'  AND  PUBLISHERS'   ASSOCIATION   OP 
THE   STATE   OF  NEW  YORK. — (1872.) 

Perhaps  no  incident  has  contributed  to  bring  more  widely 
before  the  public  a  knowledge  of  the  beautiful  scenery  of 
the  Thousand  islands,  than  the  occasion  of  the  ainnual 
meeting  of  the  Association  above  named,  at  Watertown,  in 
1872.  This  Association  had  been  formed  as  early  as  1853, 
but  its  annual  gatherings  had  been  interrupted  by  the  war. 
Partaking  of  a  social,  as  well  as  of  a  professional  charac- 
ter, these  meetings  had  come  to  be  regarded  as  both  pleas- 
ant and  profitable  to  the  members  and  their  families ;  and 
on  the  second  day  of  the  Convention  at  Watertown  (June 
26,  1872),  the  whole  day  was  given  up  to  a  Railroad  and 
Steamboat  excursion  to  the  Thousand  Islands. 

The  R.,  W.  &  O.  R.  R.  Co.  had  provided  a  train  of 
eight  cars,  drawn  by  the  engine  ''  Antwerp,"  gaily  adorned 
■with  flags,  evergreens  and  flowers,  which  took  the  party, 
(about  two  hundred  in  number,)  to  Cape  Vincent,  from 
whence  a  Steamer  conveyed  them  down  among  the  Islands 


i,; 

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194 


THE  EDITORS.^  W.  E.  RIDEINO. 


— stopping  at  Clayton  for  a  reception,  and  dining  in  the 
open  air  on  Pullman's  Island.  The  day  was  beautifully 
calm,  and  the  Islands  in  the  full  verdure  of  early  Summer 
appeared  to  best  advantage.  A  cornet  band  from  Water- 
town  accompanied  the  party,  and  added  much  to  the  en- 
joyment of  the  occasion.  Among  the  visitors  were  a  con- 
siderable number  from  the  Southern  States,  and  many  of 
the  editors  were  accompanied  by  their  wives.  The  de- 
scriptions published  in  local  papers  throughout  the  State, 
made  the  incidents  of  the  excursion  well  known  among 
their  readers,  and  created  v»ith  many  a  desire  to  view  the 
scenery  for  themselves.  From  that  time  to  the  present, 
this  interest  has  been  increasing,  but  more  Especially  since 
the  beginning  of  Summer  encampments,  partaking  of  a 
religious  and  of  a  social  nature,  of  which  a  further  notice 
is  elsewhere  given. 

W.  E.  KIDEING.  1 

"  It  is  three  o'clock  of  a  June  morning  on  the  St,  Law- 
rence ;  the  little  City  of  Kingston  is  as  fast  asleep  as  its 
founder,  the  old  Frenchman  De  Courcelles;  the  moon  is 
ebbing  before  the  breaking  day;  a  phantom  like  sloop  is 
creeping  slowly  across  the  smooth  stream.  At  the  Steam- 
boat wharf  there  is  a  little  blaze  of  light  and  a  rush  of 
noisy  life,  which  breaks,  b\it  does  not  penetrate  the  sur- 
rounding silence.  The  Lake  Ontario  Steamer  has  brought 
a  pack  of  eager  tourists  into  town — not  to  stay,  for  another 
vessel  is  waiting,  ready  to  bear  them  down  the  river, 
through  the  Rapids,  and  the  channels  of  the  Thousand  Is- 
lands to  Montreal.  The  pent-up  steam  screams  through 
the  pipe^;  lamps  gleam  fitfully  amon^  barricades  of  frei^t 
and  baggage  on  the  wharf;  men's  voices  mingle  hoarsely. 
'AH  Abaani! '  The  bell  rings  out  its  farewell  notes;  the 
whistle  pipes  its  shrill  warning  into  the  night,   and  the 

(1)  In  "Picturesqus  America,*'  vol.  ii,  p.  870. 


T 


W.  E.  RIDEINQ. 


196 


Spartan  slips  her  moorings,  to  the  pleasure  of  the  sleepy 
travellers  who  crowd  her  decks  and  cabins.  By  this  time 
the  East  is  tinted  purple,  amber  and  roseate.  Night  is  fast 
retreating.  Ardent  young  couples  on  their  wedding  jour- 
ney are  a  notable  element  among  our  fellow  travellers;  but 
there  are  all  sorts  of  people  from  the  States,  with  here  and 
there  a  chubby,  florid,  drawling  Englishman.  Most  of  us 
are  journeying  on  round-trip  tickets  from  New  York,  and 
are  as  intimate  with  one  another's  aims  and  ends  as  if  we 
were  crossing  the  ocean  together.  We  all  came  up  the 
the  Hudson  in  the  Vihbard ;  all  occupied  the  same  Pull- 
man car  between  Albany  and  Niagara,  and  will  all  rush  to 
the  3ame  hotels  in  Montreal  and  Quebec,  as  fashion  bids  us. 

"  Soon  after  leaving  Kingston,  we  bestir  ourselves,  and 
choose  eligible  seats  in  the  forward  part  of  the  boat.  We 
chat  without  restraint,  and  expectation  is  rife,  as  v.^e  near 
the  famed  Thousand  Islands.  The  descriptions  we  have 
read  and  the  stories  we  have  heard  of  the  panorama  be- 
fore us,  flock  vividly  into  our  memories.  We  are  all  ac- 
coutreii  with  Guide-books,  Maps,  and  books  of  I  adian  Le- 
gend. One  sweet  little  neighbor  of  ours  in  regulation  lav- 
ender, brings  out  a  neatly- written  copy  of  Ton\  Moore *8 
•  Row  Brothers,  Row,'  which  she  holds  in  hei  pretty 
hand,  ready  to  recite  to  her  husband  the  very  moment  Bt. 
Anne's  comes  in  view.  Meanwhile  she  is  fearful  that  St. 
Anne's  may  slip  by  unnoticed,  notwithstanding  the  as- 
surances made  to  her  that  the  much-desired  St.  Anne's  is 
twelve  hours'  sail  ahead  of  us  How  lightly  she  laughs  as 
the  boat's  white  stem  cleaves  the  cool,  gray  surface!  and 
how  enthusiastically  she  repeats  Ruskin  as  the  colors  of  the 
morning  skies  grow  warmer  and  deeper,  and  as  the  sun 
rises  directly  ahead  of  us,  opening  a  golden  pathway  on 
the  water!  and  how  prettily  surprised  she  is  when  her  be- 
loved tells  her  that  the  Thousand  Islands  number  one 
thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety-two,  as  may  be  ascertain- 
ed in  the  Treaty  of  Ghent!  Still  listening  to  her  childish 
prattle,  we  are  further  occupied  with  the  banks  of  the  River, 
and  the  numerous  dots  of  land  that  lie  in  our  course — the 
Thousand  Islands. 

'  'Are  we  disappointed  ?  That  is  the  question  which  most 
of  us  propound  before  we  proceed  many  miles.  There  k 
little  variety  in  their  form  and  covering.  So  much  alike 
are  they  in  these  respects  that  our  Steamer  might  be  almost 


ll 


196 


W,  E.  RIDEING. 


at  a  stand-still  for  all  the  change  we  notice  as  she  threads 
her  way  through  the  thirty-nine  miles  which  they  thickly 
intersperse.  In- size  they  differ  much,  however,  some  be- 
ing only  a  few  yards  in  extent,  and  others  several  miles. 
The  verdure  on  most  of  them  is  limited  to  a  sturdy  growth 
of  flr  and  pine,  with  occasionally  some  scrubby  under- 
growth which  sprouts  with  northern  vigor  from  crevices 
m  the  rocky  bed.  The  Light-Houses  which  mark  out  our 
channel  are  a  picturesque  feature,  and  are  nearly  as  fre- 
quent as  the  Islands  themselves ;  but  all  are  arearily  alike 
— fragile  wooden  structures,  about  twenty  feet  high,  uni- 
formly whitewashed. 

"As  the  Spartan  speeds  on,  breaking  the  rippling  surface 
into  tumultuous  waves,  we  meet  a  small  boat,  pulled  by  a 
lonely  man,  who  attends  to  the  lamps  from  the  shore, light- 
ing them  at  sunset,  and  putting  them  out  at  sunrise.  Some 
anglers  are  also  afloat,  and  anon  a  large  fish  sparkles  at  the 
end  of  their  line,  and  is  safely  drawn  aboard.  The  Islands 
are  famous  for  sport,  by  the  way.  Fish  of  the  choicest 
varieties  and  the  greatest  size  abound  in  these  waters,  and 
wild  fowl  of  every  sort  lurk  on  the  shores.  They  also  have 
their  legends  ancf  romances,  and  the  guide-books  tell  us, 
in  eloquent  language,  of  the  adventures  of  the  'patriots' 
who  sought  refuge  among  their  labyrinths  during  the  Can- 
adian Insurrection.  As  the  sun  mounts  higher,  and  the 
mist  and  haze  disperse,  we  run  between  Wellesley  Island 
and  the  Canadian  shore,  and  obtain  one  of  the  most  charm- 
ing views  of  the  passage.  The  verdure  is  more  plentiful 
and  the  forms  are  more  graceful  than  we  have  previously 
seen.  Tall  weeds  and  water-grasses  crop  out  of  the  shoals. 
An  abrupt  rock  throws  a  reddish-brown  reflection  on  the 
current,  which  is  skimmed  by  a  flock  of  birds  in  dreamy 
flight.  The  banks  of  the  island  and  tlie  main-land  slope 
with  easy  gradations,  inclining  into  several  bays;  and  afar 
a  barrier  seems  to  arrive  where  the  river  turns  and  is  lost 
in  the  distance.  Thence  we  steam  on  in  enthusiastic  mood 
towards  Prescott,  satisfied  with  the  beauties  we  have  seen, 
and  arrive  there  at  breakfast-time,  five  hours  and  a  half  af- 
ter leaving  Kingston. 

"Onr  preconceptions — have  they  been  realized?  Scarce- 
ly. But  an  artist  in  our  company  tells  us,  consolingly, 
that  preconceptions  are  a  hindrance  to  enjoyment,  and 
ought  to  be  avoided,  and  that  when  he  first  visited  the 


JULES  LE  CLERCQ. 


197 


Yosemite  last  Summer,  he  spent  several  days  in  getting  rid 
of  idle  dreams,  before  he  could  appreciate  the  majesty  and 
glory  of  the  real  scene." 

JULES  LE  CLERCq. — (1876.) 

This  writer,  a  Frenchman,  had  made  an  extended  tour 

in  the  West,  and  was  returning  by  way  of  the  Lakes.    We 

begin  our  extract  at  the  moment  of  his  departure  from 

Toronto:^ 

"We  found  ourselves  on  board  the  Spartan,  a  very  large 
crowd,  thanks  to  a  legion  of  pilgrims  on  their  way  to 
Wells  Island,  one  of  the  Thousand  Islands  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, for  the  purpose  of  assisting  at  a  great  religious 
meeting,  or  redcal,  as  they  say  in  this  country.  The  '  re- 
vival '  is  an  effervescence  of  devotion,  an  outburst  of 
fanaticism  that  generates  itself  at  intervals,  and  suddenly 
comes  on  like  a  storm.  There  are  spiritual  fevers  that 
generates  and  keep  alive  the  .strangest  of  sects  in  America, 
and  it  is  seldom  thai  f;ome  new  and  extraordinary  sect  does 
not  arise  from  a  revival.  »  *  *  « 

"Before  our  pilgrims  had  landed  at  Wells  Island,  the 
revival  spirit  had  ah-eady  appeared  among  them  with 
some  intensity,  but  this  was  nothing  but  the  prelude. 

"Towards  evening,  as  the  setting  sun  was  touching  the 
waves  of  Lake  Ontario,  they  began  their  songs.  To  these 
succeeded  exhortations,  which  might  perhaps  have  made 
me  a  new  convert,  had  they  not  been  so  entirely  grotesque. 
A  personage  who  seemed  to  act  the  part  of  a  ;?resident  in- 
vited any  persons  who  might  be  moved  from  Heaven,  to 
give  the  company  their  inspirations.  A  profound  silence 
followed  this  solemn  request,  and  every  one  was  looking 
around,  when  some  one  more  inspired  than  the  rest,  arose, 
and  spoke  in  a  solemn  and  prophetic  tone,  his  countenance 
lit  up  as  if  under  the  influence  oi  a  Divine  Spirit.  This 
spectacle  interested  me  very  much,  from  its  entire  strange- 
ness, but  all  of  the^e  inspired  people,  who  seemed  to  think 
themselves  holier  than  the  rest  of  the  world,  gave  me  an 
impression  quite  repulsive.     One  or  two  of  them,  in  their 

(1)  Tin  Ete  en  Atnerique  de  V Atlantique  aux  Montagnesp^ 
Bochueses.     Par  Jules  LeClercq.     Paris,  1877.  * 


198 


JULES  LE  CLERCq. 


extravagance,  implored  the  Supreme  Being  to  enlighten 
the  minds  of  every  person  aboard, — first  tie  passengers, 
one  and  all,  and  then  from  the  Captain  dowu  to  the  hum- 
blest deck-hand.  Being  unable  to  endure  more  of  this,  I 
left  this  saintly  assemblage,  to  retire  at  the  further  end  of 
the  Steamer, 

"I  know  not  what  passed  the  next  day  at  the  revival  on 
Wells  Island;  but  if  we  may  believe  an  English  writer, 
worthy  of  credit,  ^  these  revivals  become  the  scenes  of  the 
gravest  disorders: 

"As  the  night  came  on,  the  disorder  became  indescriba- 
ble; for,  including  the  revivalists,  there  were  not  less  than 
four  hundred  persons  aboard,  and  there  were  only  some 
fifty  state-rooms,  with  two  berths  in  each,  all  of  which 
were  occupied  by  the  ladies.  There  were,  therefore,  three 
hundred  persons  without  beds,  and  I  found  myself  among 
these  unfortunates,  obliged  to  sleep  on  a  plank,  with  a 
satchel  for  a  pillow.  At  my  age,  happily,  this  does  not 
matter,  and  although  I  would  not  like  to  renew  the  experi- 
ence, I  am  not  ashamed  to  know  how  it  seems  to  sleep  on 
a  plank.  On  awaking  in  the  morning,  I  found  to  my  ^eat 
astonishment  that  I  had  a  severe  headache,  and  on  raising 
the  plank,  found  that  I  had  been  sleeping  just  over  the 
boiler. 

"They  undertook  to  give  breakfast  to  four  hundred 
passengers — but  the  tables  would  accommodate  but  a  hun- 
dred guests.  They  got  over  this  difficulty  by  setting  the 
table  four  times.  In  this  setting  and  serving  four  tables 
in  succession,  it  required  from  six  to  ten  o  clock,  and  it 
was  marvelous  to  see  how  every  one  rushed  forward  as 
soon  as  the  gong  sounded.  It  was  a  pitched  siee'e,  where 
the  strongest  had  the  best  chances.  Not  caring  to  engage 
in  such  a  skirmish,  I  patiently  waited  for  the  last  edition, 
and  by  the  time  I  had  finished,  those  who  had  breakfasted 
first,  were  coming  about  for  their  dinners.  Such  are  the 
little  incidents  of  travels  in  America,  and  if  ray  star  ever 
guides  me  to  that  country  again,  I  trust  it  will  not  be  at 
the  time  of  a  revival. 

"  After  passing  Kingston,  the  second  largest  city  in  the 
Province  of  Ontario,  we  entered  the  St.   Lawrence,  and 


(1)  Hepworih  IHxon. 
Vol.  2;  chap.  14. 


New  America.     Spiritual  Cycles. 


"^ 


JULES  LE  GLERCq. 


199 


Cycles. 


for  two  hours  were  Bteaming  through  the  midst  of  the 
Thousand  Islands,  concerning  which  Mr.  Xavier  Marmier 
and  other  travellers  have  expressed  an  admiration  in 
which  I  cannot  join. 

"I  will,  therefore,  content  myself  with  giving  one  of 
those  descriptions  found  in  the  guide-books.     I  can  only 

fet  up  a  sort  of  cold  enthusiasm,  for  this  is  not  my  trade, 
can  understand  how  amateur  hunters  and  anglers  can 
here  find  their  delights;  but,  though  I  am  not  altogether 
hostile  to  the  mysteries  of  nfMoting  and  fishing,  I  cannot 
tmly  say  that  I  found  much  to  admire  in  this  River  Archi- 
pelago. 

* '  They  tell  me  that  the  number  of  these  Islands  amounts 
to  eighteen  hundred ;  but  if  there  were  a  hundred  thousand, 
would  they  therefore  be  the  more  beautiful?  For  my  part, 
I  would  not  exchange  a  single  pearl  in  the  enchanting 
group  of  the  Borromeo  Islands,  in  Lake  Maggiori,  for  the 
whole  eighteen  hundred  Islands  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  At 
the  risk  of  incurring  the  reproach  of  heresy,  I  will  ven- 
ture to  say,  that  the  Thousand  Isles  have  a  reputation  al- 
together adorned.  They  have  been  honored  by  so  many 
pompous  and  emphatic  descriptions,  that  all  tourists  are 
obliged  to  believe  them  the  wonder  of  wonders.  Tourists 
have  an  unfortunate  way  of  admiring  all  that  Murray, 
Joanne,  and  others,  tell  them  they  must  admire,  and  they 
think  tliey  must  not  return  from  America  without  having 
seen  them.  If  otherwise,  the  conversation  would  take 
some  such  form  as  this : 

"  '  You  have  been  in  America?' 

—"'Yes.' 

— "  '  And  have  seen  the  Thousand  Islands?' 

— "'I  did  not  see  them.' 

"  At  the  end  of  the  dialogue  you  would  hear — '  Simple- 
ton! don't  you  know  they  are  cited  in  prose  and  verse? 
You  might  be  pardoned  for  passing  Niagara — that  is  su- 
perannuated— but  the  Thousand  Islands! — What  then  did 
you  go  to  America  to  see?' 

"  To  finish  oflf :  'I  know  some  part  of  Sweden,  and 
upon  that  part  of  Lake  Maelar,  that  extends  from  Stock- 
holm to  Upsal,  is  an  Archipelago  infinitely  more  pictur- 
esque than  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence ;  yet  the  Swedes  have 
not  the  tact  to  boast  of  their  Thousand  Islands  like  the 
Americans." 


'!■ 


i  iir 


soo 


J.  R.  8TEBBIN8.—0.  L.  TAYLOR. 


I 


J.    R.    STEBBTN8.— (1878.) 

After  describing  tlie  mode  of  life  at  tlie  Park,  and  the 

discomfort  of  excursions,  tliis  writer  says  :^ 

"To  me,  tlie  pi  »asures  of  this  magnificiit  River  are  its 
very  solitudes.  Given  a  silent,  attentive  o  irsmun,  a  light 
ripple  upon  the  water,  a  gentle  breeze  upon  the  cheek,  turn 
behind  an  island  away  from  the  sight  and  sound  of  the 
thoroughfare,  with  the  blue  sky  above,  the  clear  water 
below,  and  the  finest  scenery  in  the  world  upon  every  side. 
Surely  now^  if  ever,  one  may  yield  himself  to  Nature,  and 
meet  his  own  soul  face  to  face.  Silence  is  a  blissful  com- 
panionship here,  and  there  can  be  no  tediousness  of  soli- 
tude to  him  who  has  within  himself  resources  of  thought 
and  dream — the  pleasures  of  memory,  of  imagination,  of 
dreamy  forgetfuluess,  of  delightful  rest.  Never  in  even  the 
poet's  grandest  song,  was  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  these 
scenes  fully  expressed." 

GEORGE  LANSING  TAYLOR,  D.D. — (1878.) 

While  most  of  preceding  notices  refer  only  to  the  natural 
scenery  of  the  Thousand  islands,  this  writer  speaks  partic- 
ularly of  their  occupation,  and  the  improvements  along 
their  shores  :^ 

"There  are  nearly  two  thousand  of  these  Islands,  lying 
in  about  twenty-five  miles  of  the  course  of  the  River,  from 
the  broad  outlet  of  the  Lake  down  to  the  narrowed  and 
united  stream  above  Ogdensburgh.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
densely  crowded  archipelagoes  in  the  world.  TLe  Islands 
range  from  the  size  of  a  township,  down  to  that  of  p  hay- 
stack. But  a  very  large  number  of  them  are  habicabie, 
and  many  have  been  long  inhabited.  Yet  so  many  have 
remained  wild,  that  the  prevailing  character  of  the  whole 
has  been  that  of  a  wilderness. 

"It  is  precisely  that  fact  that  has  given  the  Islands  their 
value  and  charm  in  modern  days.     It  is  this  that  has  made 

(1)  Editorial  Correspondence  of  the  Little  Falls  Journal, 
August  28,  1878. 

(2)  From  Th^  Methodist,  August  29,  1878. 


Q,  L.  TAYLOR, 


201 


them  the  chosen  and  delightful  retreat  they  are,  and  has 
brought  wealth  and  taste  hither  to  find  a  summer  refuge 
sweeter  than  can  be  found  at  any  of  the  old  and  crowded 
resorts  of  extravagance  and  fashion. 

"It  is  this  that  has  caused  a  modern  Venice,  gay  as  a 
dream  of  a  fairy  land,  to  spring  up  here  on  every  hand 
among  these  green  solitudes.  There  are  now  hunareds  of 
beautiful  and  tasteful  cottages  here,  where  a  few  years  ago 
there  was  only  an  unvisited  wilderness,  or  at  most  the  log- 
cabins  of  a  tew  fishermen  and  lumbermen.  Alexandria 
Bay,  twenty  years  ago  a  lumbering  station,  is  now  a  fine 
watering  place,  with  two  superb  hotels  and  several  plainer 
ones.  Clayton,  then  a  post-office  village,  is  now  a  brisk 
railway  and  steamer  port,  with  five  thousand  inhabitants 
and  a  krge  trade. 

"Such  is  the  general  outline  of  the  spot  chosen  by  the 
Methodists  of  Central  and  Northern  New  York  for  their 
great  summer  resort  and  resting  place.  Seldom  has  a  choice 
been  so  fortunate.  Few  are  the  chances  for  so  fortunate  a 
choice.  The  tract  owned  by  the  company  embraces  nearly 
500  acres,  ^  situated  on  the  western  or  up-stream  end  of 
Wellesley  Island.  There  is  a  great  advantage  in  having 
the  western  end,  as  the  prevailing  winds  in  Summer  are 
from  the  west,  and,  blowing  across  a  vast  sheet  of  fresh 
water,  come  highly  charged  with  that  modified  form  of 
oxygen  known  as  ozone,  the  greatest  vitalizing  agent  in  all 
nature.  Besides  this  advantage,  the  situation  itself  is  the 
best  that  could  have  been  selected,  givin^^  a  fine  oak  and 
hickory  and  white-pine  grove  for  the  encampment,  with 
the  finest  rock  scenery  on  the  River  just  ftt  hand." 

This  same  writer,  :ti  the  Christian  Advocate,  of  August 

15,  1878,  says:— 

' '  Ulysses  managed  to  sail  past  the  Enchanted  Islands, 
and  so  to  escape  the  songs  and  snares  of  the  Sirens,  but 
Calypso's  spells  were  too  powerful  for  him,  and  for  a  while 
he  had  to  succumb.  And  this  among  the  Isles  of  Greece ! 
Who  can  say  what  had  happened  had  the  Ithacan  sage 
been  tested  amid  the  innumerable  charms  of  the  Thousand 
(nearer  two  thousand)  Isles  of  the  great  St.  Lawrence 
River!    At  any  rate,  many  a  Modern  Ulysses  has  here  met 

(1)  Now  about  983  acres. 
18 


iii 


m 


I  I! 


20S 


G.  L.  TAYLOR. 


his  fate,  and  not  only  been  ensnared  and  detained  tempo- 
rarily against  his  will,  but,  like  Peter  or  Hermon,  (I  believe 
in  Hermon,  not  Taber,)  has  said,  'It  is  good  for  us  to  be 
here,'  and,  as  Peter  wished  to  do)  has  forthwith  gone  to 
cottage-building,  singing. 

My  willing  soul  would  «tay 
In  such  It  FRAMi  SB  tbls, 

(Albeit,  many  of  these  cottages  have  not  even  a  frame,  or» 
at  most,  none  to  speak  of.) 

"And  so  it  has  come  about  that  this  once  wild,  unten- 
anted and  almost  inaccessible  Archipelago  has,  like  the 
lagoon  of  the  Northern  Adriatic,  .given  birth  to  another 
Venice;  not  a  Venice  in  marble,  but  a  Venice  in  pine;  but 
one  more  beautiful  in  the  wild  irregularity  of  Island,  For- 
est, Rock  and  River,  than  the  flat  mud  banks  of  the 
marshy  delta  of  the  River  Po  ever  made  possible.  A  few 
years  ago,  a  sail  through  these  Islands  was  a  glorious  pano- 
rama of  wilderness,  save  here  and  there,  upon  a  few  of 
the  larger  Islands,  appeared  the  clearing  and  log  cabin  of 
some  sottler,  probably  a  '  squatter, '  perhaps  a  trapper  or 
fisherman,  possibly  h  lumberman,  or,  more  likely  of  all, 
one  who  cuts  forests  not  his  own.  into  huge  wood-piles, 
which  he  sold  to  passing  River  Steamers.  Not  a  few  log 
cabins  remain,  memorials  of  other  years,  some  of  them 
the  best  of  their  kind,  and  still  inhabited.  One  such  still 
stands  on  one  part  of  the  lands  owned  by  this  Park  Asso- 
ciation, and  the  Association  ought  to  preserve  it  as  a  prim- 
eval relic,  to  be  sacredly  cherished,  and  put  to  some  artis- 
tic use,  tliat  should  do  honor  to  one  of  the  primitive  homes 
of  white  men.  Will  the  presiding  ^ew/ws  loci,  Brother 
Dayan,  and  his  worthy  associates,  make  a  note  of  this 
observation,  an  'govern  themselves  accordingly?'" 


NEW   YORK  HERALD   CORRESPONDENT.  1— (1878.) 

After  noticing  the  recent  interest  which  the  scenery  of 
the  Islands  had  excited,  "the  walking  shoes  of  tourists 
not  having  effaced  the  imprints  of  In  lian  moccasins,"  and 


(1)  New  York  Herald,  July  4,  1878. 


HERALD  CORRESPONDENT. 


208 


still 
Asso- 


enumerating  the  persons  of  high  official  rank  who  were 
Summering  here,  this  writer  says: 

"The  vicinity  of  the  Thousand  Islands  will  probably  be 
thronged,  but  a  million  of  people  could  be  swallowed  up 
in  its  vast  solitudes  without  interfering  with  each  other's 
routes  or  pleasures.  In  the  old  Indian  days,  that  part  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  lying  between  Clayton  and  Alexandria 
Bay,  sixteen  miles  in  extent,  and  embracing  a  labyrinth  of 
Isles  of  which  the  number  is  considerably  more  than  a 
thousand,  went  by  the  name  of  Manatoana,  ^  or  Garden  of 
the  Groat  Spirit.  The  name  would  suit  the  beauty  and 
general  tranquillity  of  the  region  still.  Picturesqueness 
and  calm  are  the  traits  of  the  shores  and  Islands,  rather 
than  the  pomp  and  sublimity  which  have  been  imagined 
by  some  enthusiasts,  and  the  climate  helps  to  render  them 
an  earthly  paradise  for  sportsmen  and  seekers  after  health 
and  rest.  For  many  years  before  the  Civil  War,  a  few 
persons,  some  of  them  men  of  note,  had  made  this  their 
Summer  vacation-place.  Among  these  early  visitors  were 
Governor  Seward,  Martin  and  John  Van  Buren,  Silas 
Wright,  Frank  Blair,  Preston  King,  Gen.  Dick  Taylor, 
and  Ilev.  Dr.  George  W.  Bethune.  But  the  rush  to  Alex- 
andria Bay  did  not  fairly  commence  until  1872.  In  1870, 
Geoi-ge  W\  Pullman,  known  the  world  over  as  '  Palace 
Car  Pullman,'  purchased  what  is  now  known  as  Pullman 
Island,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  Islands,  lying 
8  short  distance  from  the  village.  This  he  improved  with 
buildings  and  other  conveniences,  and  his  family  and 
guests  were  made  happy  there  and  thereabouts  during  the 
succeeding  Summers. 

"In  1873,  President  Grant  and  family,  with  a  party  of 
friends,  went  there  at  Mr.  Pullman's  invitation,  and  stayed 
eight  days.  During  their  visit,  some  brilliant  evening  en- 
tertainments were  given,  and  people  flockf/^  thither  by 
hundreds  from  miles  around,  while  others  ;ame  from  afar. 
The  same  year,  a  large  party  of  New  York  and  Southern 
newspaper  editors  made  an  excursion  to  the  Islands  from 
Watertown,  where  the  annual  State  Editorial  Convention 

(1)  This  word  is  purely  the  invention  of  the  writer,  like 
Cooper's  "  Horicon,"  as  applied  to  Lake  George,  neither 
of  them  having  the  least  claim  to  genuineness. 


Il 


it 


ml 

m 

r  1  *  •  1 


kr 


.|i 


m 


m 


HERALD  CORRESPONDENT. 


was  held,  and  enjoyed  a  big  out-door  feast.     These  two 
events  brought  the  islands  into  extensive  notice. 

The  Island  Parka. 

"The  largest  of  the  five  or  six  large  Islands  in  the  vicinity 
is  Wells  Island,  directly  opposite  Alexandria  Bay.  It  is 
eight  miles  long,  and  about  four  miles  wide,  and  contains 
between  eight  and  nine  thousand  acres.  Parts  of  it  have 
long  been  cultivated.  A  deep  indentation  across  the  cen- 
tre almost  divides  it  in  two. 

"  Two  great  Parks,  each  containing  500  or  more  acres, 
one  controlled  by  Methodists  and  the  other  by  Presbyte- 
rians, are  now  the  chief  attractions  of  this  Island. 

"Tfie  Thousand  hland  Park  of  the  Methodists,  on  the  up- 
per end,  was  laid  out  in  1874.  To  its  varied  natural  beau- 
ties, they  have  added  drives  and  walks  along  the  River's 
edge,  and  through  the  woods.  Buildings  for  religious  ser- 
vices and  for  the  accommodation  of  visitors,  have  been 
erected;  also,  a  dock  and  dock  buildings,  a  number  of 
bath-houses,  and  perhaps  a  hundred  cottages.  ^  Here  are 
held  Camp-Meetings  and  Sunday-school  t'onventions  each 
Summer  and  Fall,  which  in  recent  years  have  been  at- 
tended by  tens  of  thousands  of  people. 

"Westmimter  Park,  at  the  opposite  extremity  of  the 
Island,  a  mile  across  from  Alexandria  Bay,  was  recently 
purchased  by  a  Presbyterian  Company,  which  has  a  capi- 
tal stock  of  $30,000.  It  embraces  about  five  hundred 
acres,  finely  situated  between  two  long  fronts,  one  border- 
ing on  the  River,  on  the  American  side,  the  other  on  the 
'Lake  of  the  Island,*  on  the  Canadian  side.  It  is  made 
up  of  hill,  vale,  forest  and  cleared  land.  In  the  centre  is 
a  height,  up  which  a  winding  roadway  is  intended  to  lead 
to  a  tower  commanding  a  majestic  view.  A  huge  boardihg- 
house  is  about  completed.  The  sale  of  lots  has  been  goiag 
on  briskly;  in  one  week,  100  lots  were  sold  at  prices  rang- 
ing from  |25  to  $200  a  lot.  It  is  anticipated  that  by  the 
middle  of  July,  seventy-five  dwelling*;  of  various  kinds 
and  sizes,  will  have  been  erected  in  the  new  Westminster 
Park." 

(1)  In  the  Spring  of  1880,  the  number  of  cottages  and 
buildings  of  various  kinds,  was  about  200. 


IS 


DUKE  OF  ARGYLL. 


205 


e  two 


cinity 

It  18 

D  tains 
t  have 
e  cen- 

acres, 
Bsbyte- 

theup- 
il  beau- 
River's 
3US  ser- 
e  been 
iber  of 
[ere  are 
Ds  each 
leen  at- 

of   the 
recently 
a  capi- 
lundred 
border- 
on  the 
is  made 
centre  is 
i  to  lead 
oardiug- 
en  goiag 
ces  rang- 
it  by  the 
IS  kinds 
3tminster 


ages  and 


This  writer  next  proceeds  to  notice  the  beautiful  capes 
and  headlands  along  the  American  shore,  that  afford  ad- 
mirable sites  for  cottages,  many  of  which  have  been  im- 
proved. He  particularly  mentions  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland's 
place,  named  "Bonnycastle,"  after  one  of  his  own  novels, 
as  one  of  the  choicest  of  these  locations  and  under  the 
finest  improvement. 

The  attractions  of  the  Islands  as  a  place  for  fishing,  and 
for  rural  enjoyment  generally,  the  extent  and  character  of 
the  fine  hotel  accommodations  of  this  region,  and  the  routes 
by  which  it  may  be  reached  by  tourists,  are  then  given  in 
detail. 

THE  DUKE  OF  ARGYLL. — (1879.) 

In  the  Summer  of  1879,  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  (father  of 
the  Marquis  of  Lome,  Governor-General  of  Canada),  made 
a  visit  to  America, — arriving  at  New  York  June  3d,  and 
departing  from  that  port  on  his  return  July  15th.  In  an 
article  published  in  Frazer's  Magazine,  he  has  given  his 
"  First  Impressions  of  the  New  World,"  which  so  far  as 
they  relate  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  were  as  follows: 

"Of  the  scenery  of  the  St.  Lawrence  between  Kingston 
and  Montreal,  I  can  only  say  that  its  sole  attraction  is  in 
the  majesty  of  the  River,  and  that  where  that  majesty  is 
lost  by  the  River  becoming  merely  a  series  of  Lakes,  the 
view  is  irredeemably  monotonous.  The  banks  are  very 
low;  the  houses  visible  upon  them  are  too  often  like  wood- 
en boxes ;  and  it  is  only  at  a  few  spots  that  the  trees  ex- 
hibit any  effective  masses  of  foliage.  A  labyrinth  of  little 
rocky  islets,  rising  out  of  tranquil  water,  and  divided  from 
each  other  by  intricate  channels  and  creeks  and  bays,  with 
changing  vistas  of  lights  and  shadows  and  reflections,  must 
always  be  beautiful  in  its  own  way.  But  the  famous 
'  Thousand  Islands*  of  the  St.  Lawrence  cannot  be  com- 


206 


DUKE  OF  ARGYLL. 


pared  with  the  analagous  scenery  in  many  of  the  Lakes  of 
Europe,  and  especially  of  Scotland,  The  general  uniform- 
itj  af  elevation  in  the  Islands  themselves,  and  the  utter  flat- 
ness of  the  banks  on  either  side,  ive  a  tameness  and  mon- 
otony to  the  scene  which  contrasts  unfavorably  indeed 
with  the  lovely  islets  that  break  the  surfaces  of  Loch  Lom- 
ond and  Loch  Awe.  But  on  the  other  hand,  wherever  the 
St.  Lawrence  reveals  itself  to  the  eye,  not  as  a  series  of 
Lakes,  but  as  a  rushing  River — then,  indeed,  its  course  be- 
comes wonderfully  impressive.  It  is  worth  crossing  the 
Atlantic  to  see  the  Rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  Such  vol- 
umes of  water  rushing  and  foaming  in  billows  of  glorious 
green  and  white,  can  be  seen  nowhere  in  the  Old  "W  orld. 
They  speak  to  the  eye  of  the  distances  from  which  they 
come;  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  are  their  far-off 
water-shed  in  the  West;  of  the  vast  intervening  Continent 
which  they  have  drained;  of  the  great  inland  Seas  in  which 
they  have  been  stored  and  gathered.  These  Rapids  are  the 
final  leaps  and  bounds  b;^  which  they  gain  at  last  the  level 
of  the  Ocean,  and  the  history  of  their  triumphant  course 
seems  as  it  were  written  on  their  face." 


POJETIG    ASSOCIATIONS 


OF  THE 


MISCELLAN^EOUS  ARTICLES 


tl 


J. 

f 


CANADIAN  BOAT  SONGS. 

Most  early  travellers  speak  of  the  Songs  with  which  the 
Canadian  voyageurs  were  accustomed  to  beguile  their  labors 
at  the  oar,  and  of  the  impressions  that  they  left  upon  the 
memory.  These  are  now  entirely  unknown  upon  this  part 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  but  are  still  heard  upon  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Ottawa,  and  in  regions  not  yet  invaded  by 
the  power  of  steam. 

These  souvenirs  of  travel,  belong  to  a  period  in  society 
that  appears  to  be  passing  away,  and  like  the  popular  songs 
of  all  countries,  that  perpetuate  their  historical  legends,  and 
the  traditions  of  ancestors,  they  are  unknown  in  cities,  and 
are  found  only  in  rural  life.  In  this  instance,  they  may  be 
often  traced  back  to  a  European  origin,  and  are  of  the  kind 
that  tend  to  keep  alive  the  poetic  associations  of  a  gay  and 
happy  peasantry,  rather  than  the  historical  memories  of  a 
great  and  powerful  peoplfc  In  fact  there  appear  to  be  very 
little  sense,  much  less  a  connection  of  narrative,  in  any  of  these 
popular  songs  of  these  people,  and  the  most  that  can  be 
said  of  many  of  them  is,  that  they  were  a  jolly  string  of 
words  without  rhyme  or  sense,  with  frequent  repetitions, 
and  a  joyous  refrain. 

In  their  incoherent  stanzas  and  their  repetitions,  they  re- 
sembled in  some  respects  the  slave- songs  of  the  South 
before  the  late  war,  although  wholly  devoid  of  that  religious 
sentiment  which  formed  a  feature  in  many  of  the  Social 
Songs  of  the  Slaves. 


SIO 


CANADIAN  BOAT  80N08. 


I     Mi 


Some  years  since,  Mr.  Ernst  Gagnon,  of  Quebec,  pre- 
pared a  collection  of  these  Canadian  songs.  ^  It  contains 
only  those  most  commonly  known,  for  according  to  this 
author,  "ten  large  volumes  would  scarcely  contain  them." 
He  further  remarks,  that  as  a  general  thing,  there  is  noth- 
ing indelicate  or  wanton  in  these  popular  melodies,  and 
that  even  in  some  of  this  description  that  can  be  traced 
back  to  French  origin,  the  objectionable  features  have  been 
dropped.  In  other  cases,  the  change  in  these  airs  has  been 
80  great  that  their  origin  can  scarcely  be  traced  back  be- 
yond the  period  of  emigration,  and  in  others  they  are 
unmistakably  and  entirely  Canadian. 

We  will  limit  our  notice  of  these  songs,  to  two  or  three 
of  the  most  popular  and  well  known,  and  of  these  the  one 
first  given  is  altogether  the  most  important. 

"  A  LA  CLAIRE  FONTAINE. " 

Says  Mr.  Gagnon: — "From  the  little  seven-year-old  child 
to  the  gray-haired  old  man,  every  body  m  Canada  knows 
this  song.  There  is  no  French  Canadian  song  that  in  this 
respect  will  compare  with  it,  although  the  melody  is  very 
primitive,  and  it  has  little  to  interest  the  musician,  beyond 
its  great  popularity. " 

It  is  often  sung  to  a  dancing  tune,  and  is  even  brought 
into  the  fantasies  of  a  concert.    It  is  known  in  France, 

(1)  Chansons  Populaires  du  Canada,  RecueUles  et  Pub- 
lites  a/Dec  annotations,  etc.    Quebec,  1865. 

The  author  is  organist  in  the  Cathedral  at  Quebec,  and 
his  special  musical  education  and  earnest  devotion  to  this 
study,  gave  these  labors  peculiar  value.  It  is  understood 
that  a  new  edition  of  this  work  is  in  course  of  publication. 


CANADIAN  BOAT  S0N08. 


ill 


atains 
to  this 
hem." 
J  noth- 
!8,  and 
traced 
^rebeen 
as  been 
lackbe- 
liey  are 

or  three 
the  one 


)ld  child 
a  knows 
at  in  this 
y  is  very 
,  beyond 

brought 
i  France, 

ui  et  Pu^ 

lebec,  and 
Lon  to  this 
nderstood 
iblication. 


and  is  said  to  be  of  Norman  origin,  although  M.  Marmier 
thinks  it  came  from  La  Franche  Comte,  and  M.  Ratherj 
thinks  it  was  brought  from  Bretagnc,  under  the  reign  of 
Louis  XIV.  In  France  it  has  nearly  the  same  words,  but 
with  this  difference — that  the  French  song  expresses  the 
son'ow  of  a  young-girl  at  the  loss  of  her  friend  Pierre, 
while  the  Canadian  lad  wastes  his  regrets  upon  the  rose 
that  his  mistress  rejected.  The  air  as  sung  in  France  is 
altogether  different.  Some  years  since  this  song  in  its 
Canadian  dress  was  brought  out  in  all  the  principal  theatres 
of  Paris  with  immense  success.  This  led  to  a  distressing 
burlesque  of  "La  Claire  Fontaine,  a8  they  sing  it  in  Paris." 

On  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to 
America  in  1860,  a  little  incident  occurred  on  bo&rd  the  Hero, 
on  the  last  evening  before  the  land  ng  at  Quebec,  that  brought 
this  song  and  its  air  into  notice  upon  a  much  wider  field 
than  before.  Several  prominent  Canadians  had  come  on 
board,  and  as  the  evening  wore  away,  Mr.  Cartier,  a  high 
official  in  the  Colonial  Government,  stepped  forward,  and 
began  to  sing  this  song  in  a  clear  and  melodious  voice. 

The  chorus  was  easily  picked  up  by  the  listeners,  and 
after  once  hearing  it,  a  few  voices  joined  in ; — at  first  in 
subdued  and  gentle  murmur,  but  at  each  return  more  clear 
and  strong,  until  at  the  end,  the  whole  party  were  in  full 
accord,  and  singing  with  enthusiasm  the  oft-repeated  de- 
claration—   ' 

"  II  ya  longtemp*  qua  je  t'niine, 
Junaii  je  na  t'  oubler»i." 

From  this  time  onward  till  the  end  of  his  journey  in 
America,  this  simple  melody  became  the  favorite  piece, 


m 


li 


ne 


CANADIAN  BOA  7'  H0N08. 


or  was  brought  in  as  un  accompaDiment  to  other  music,  at 
receptions  and  parties,  and  in  short  upon  all  occasions 
wherever  music  was  in  order,  and  for  this  reason,  it  is  now 
better  known  outside  of  Canada,  than  all  the  rest  of  French- 
Canadian  songs  put  together. 

A  la  Claire  Fontairts. 


A  la  clalre  f  on  tain  e, 
M'en  allant  promener, 
J'al  trouve  Veau  8l  belle, 
Que  Je  m'y  suls  baiffne. 

II  y  a  longtemps  que  je  t'alme 
Jamais  je  ne  t'oubleral. 

J'al  trouve  I'eau  si  belle, 
Que  je  m'y  suis  baigrne 
Et  c'est  au  pied  d'un  ohene 
Que  je  m'suis  repose. 

II  y  a  loDgtemps,  etc. 

Et  c'est  au  pied  d'un  chene 

§!ue  je  m'suis  repose 
ur  la  plus  haute  branche 
Le  rossignol  chantait. 

II  y  a  loDgrtemps,  etc. 

Sur  la  plus  haute  branche 
Le  rossignal  chantait, 
Chante,  rossifirnol,  chante, 
Tol  qui  as  le  cieur  «ai. 

II  y  a  loDgtemps,  etc. 

Chante ,  rossignol.  chante, 
Toi  qui  as  le  coear  gal, 


Tu  as  le  cceur  a  rire, 
Moi  je  I'ai  apleurer. 

II  y  a  longteraps,  etc. 

Tu  as  le  coeur  a  rire, 
Moi  je  I'al  a  pleurer, 
J'   ai  perdu  ma  maitresse 
Sans  pouvoir  latrouver. 

II  y  a  longtemps,  etc. 

J'al  perdu  ma  maitresse, 
Sans  pouvoir  la  trouver, 
Pour  un  bouquet  de  rose 
Que  je  lui  refusal. 

II  y  a  longtemps,  etc. 

Pour  un  bouquet  de  rose 

Sue  je  lui  retusai, 
o  voudrais  que  la  rose 
Fut  encore  au  rosier, 

II  y  a  longtemps,  etc. 

.Te  voudrais  que  la  rose 
Fut  encore  au  rosier, 
Et  que  le  rosier  meme 
Fut  a  la  mere  jete. 

II  y  a  lontemps  que  je  t'alme 
Jamais  je  ne  t'oublerals. 


The    following    not-very-literal  English  translation  of 

this  Chanson,  has  in  one  sense  more  poetic  merit  than  the 

original,  inasmuch  as  it  has  a  rhyme,  to  which  the  French 

does  not  pretend. 

As  by  the  crystal  fount  I  strayed, 
On  which  the  dancing  moonbeams  played. 
The  water  seemed  so  clear  and  bright, 
I  bathed  myself  in  its  delight ; 

I  loved  thee  from  the  hour  we  met, 

And  never  can  that  love  forget. 


t '  i\ 


sic,  at 

CbSiODS 

is  now 
rrench- 


886 

jr. 


ise, 
er, 
rose 


086 
86 

Be 
e 


je  faime 
rals. 

lation  of 
than  the 
,e  French 


A    LA    CLAIRE    FONTAINE. 


li^^^^i^^f^^ 


A      la  olai-re     fontaine,     M*on   al -lantpro-me-ner, 


liiE 


Vi=t 


r 


E3^iE3E|E^fc?3:|a^fE* 


:|gi 


J'ai  trou-v6  I'eau si  belle,    Quo     je  m'y    suis  baigne 


t- 1 1-4- — I 1 — ^ 

k?=S:E3±lr^=k*Et: 

~0 •-  -^-     -4-  -#■    ih 


u 


-J 


-0-0- 


lis 


#~      L-i 


-^■^- 


:'6ij££* 


-N--|s— ^— Nr-1 ^-::t-T:^-^-::^--:^l 


11    y  along  temps  que  je  t'aime  J'amais  je  ne  tWblerai. 


te 


-n 


-4- 


:q^z;^z:4 


r-1- 


* — #— ^— * — 0- 


^.^i^^ 


•^^ 


I 


::): 


r 


iE^ 


If       V    V- 


-#  #  If: 


a 


"^      "^  #— ^ PJ 1— i 


f 


(2ia) 


r 


I 


r ".  ■  • 


-I  f 


it 


ta 


:i  i  ill!! 


(H 


Mi 


CANADIAN  BOAT  SONGS. 


215 


The  water  seemed  so  clear  and  bright, 
I  bathed  myself  in  its  delight ; 
The  nigbtinf^ale  above  my  head, 
•  As  sweet  a  stream  of  music  shed. 
I  loved  thee,  etc. 

The  nightingale  above  my  head, 
As  sweet  a  stream  of  music  shed, 
Sing,  nightingale,  thy  heart  is  glad, 
But  I  could  weep,  for  mine  is  sad  1 
I  loved  thee,  etc. 

Sin*r,  nightingale,  thy  heart  is  glad, 
But  I  could  weep,  for  mine  is  sadl 
For  I  have  lost  my  lady  flair. 
And  she  has  left  me  to  despair! 
I  loved  thee,  etc. 

For  I  have  lost  my  lady  fair, 
And  she  has  left  me  to  despair, 
For  that  I  yave  not  when  she  spoke, 
The  rose  that  from  its  tree  I  broke, 
I  loved  thee,  etc. 

For  that  I  gave  not  when  she  spoke. 
The  rose  that  from  its  tree  I  broke; 
I  wish  the  rose  were  on  the  tree, 
And  my  beloved  again  with  me. 
I  loved  thee,  etc. 

I  wish  the  rose  were  on  its  tree. 
And  my  beloved  again  with  me. 
Or  that  the  tree  itself  were  cast 
Into  the  sea,  before  this  passed. 
I  loved  thee,  etc. 

Of  the  above  Chanson,  Marmier  observes : 

"A.8  you  notice,  there  is  neither  verse,  nor  rhyme,  nor 
anything  else  besides  an  outlandish  measure  of  syllables; 
*  *  *  *  Yet  these  rude  couplets  sung 

to  the  rudest  of  melodies,  have  in  them  an  indescribable 
melancholy  that  penetrates  the  soul." 

An  English  writer  who  published  his  observations  in 
1864,  *  gives  one  of  these  songs,  prefaced  with  the  follow- 
ing descriptive  account  of  its  execution  : 

"The  French  Canadian  boatmen  seem  to  be  a  happy 
devil-may-care  sort  of   fellows,    who   did  not  allow  the 

(1)  English  Amei'ica,  or  Pictures  of  Canadian  PIoa^  artd 
People.    By  Samuel  PJiilUps  Day.    London,  1864. 


It 


216 


CANADIAN  BOAT  SONGS. 


'I  1  i 


ni 


';4 


U 


iiiiii 


! 


thought  for  tomorrow  to  interfere  in  any  way  with  the 
enjoyment  of  to-day.  They  ;<ing  in  concert  very  plaint- 
ively; and  some  of  their  favorite  ballards  are  highly 
pathetic.  One  day  I  was  prevailed  upon  by  a  friend  to 
take  an  excursion  in  a  canoe,  manned  by  half  a  dozen  of 
these  thoughtless  people.  Upon  sailing  up  the  St.  Law- 
rence, as  they  warmed  to  their  work,  they  commenced 
singing  the  following  chanson;  and  so  prettily  was  it  exe- 
cuted, that  the  effect  was  most  extraordinar  . 

"PETITE  JEANNETON." 

Quand  j'etals  chez  mon  pere  (bis.) 

Petite  et  jeune  etions,  (ou,  Petite  Jeanneton,) 

Dondaine,  don, 
Petite  et  jeune  etions, 

Dondaine. 

M' envoi  - 1  -  a  la  f  ontftine  (bis.) 
Pour  pecher  du  poisson. 
Dondaine.  don,  etc. 

La  f ontaine  eat  profoude,  ( bis.) 
.T'me  suis  coulee  au  fond, 
Dondaine,  don,  etc. 

Par  ici-t-Il  y  passe  (bis,) 
Trois  Cavillers  barons, 
Dondaine,  don,  etc. 

—Que  donnedez-vous,  belle,  (bis.) 
Qui  VOU8  tir-rait  du  fond  ? 
Dondaine,  don,  etc. 

— Trez,  tirez,  dit-elle,  (bis.) 
Apres  ca  nous  verrons, 
;  Dondaine,  don,  et9. 

Quand  la  bell'  fut  tiree,  (bis) 
S'en  fut  a'  la  maison, 
Dondaine,  don,  etc. 

S'aseit  sur  la  fenetre,(bi8.) 
Comopose  une  chanson, 
Dondaine,  don,  etc. 

— Ce  n'est  pas  ca,  la  belle  (bis.) 
Que  nous  vous  deuuindons, 
Dondaine,  don,  etc. 

C'est  votre  cceur  engage,  (bis.) 
Savoir  si  nous  Taui-ons, 
Dondaine,  don,  eto. 

—Mon  petit  coeur  en  gage  (bis.) 
N  est  pas  pour  un  baron, 
Dondaine,  don,  etc. 


i  ii 


l-l 


PETITE    JEANNETON. 


:::^--:l 


ilVz-nh-I 


^-^0-0-0 


--'0-n- 


w=ir^- 


1/— • — 


v~-- 


Quand  j'etaiscbezmon    \>d  -  re       Quand  j'dtaischczmon 

HS 4 


m 


-1^- 
T 


m 


-« — 0~ 


M-^-t: 


-^ ^ 


r 


r 


Lizdznil: 


— I — 


?i$S:T-:5:-5:i|^^|-2:.-5rF:2-.:^;{s:Hs:Hs-F 


pe  -  re,      i>e-tite  et  jeune  e    -    tions       don  dai  ne  don 

J — I — ^ — L.  ^ — #-« i-S- — ^ 


f 


ii^g^^Ei^iiiiia^f^ 


iE^^ES^irEisii?,=feii 


petitie     et  jeunc  6 


tions,don       dai   -   ne. 


P 


:q 


tz^ 


i3^iii=fei 


T        T 


-*-  -*• 


■::r- 


9^^^ 


r-=i- 


(217) 


CANADIAN  BOAT  SONGS. 


il9 


Ma  mere  me  le  grarde  (bis.) 
Pour  mon  joH  mi^non, 

Dondainp,  don. 
Pour  mon  joli  misrnoD, 

Dondaine. 

Dr.  J.  J.  Bigsb}',  Secretary  of  the  Boundary  Commission 
on  the  part  of  tlie  English  Government  in  the  survey  west- 
ward from  Niagara,  in  1823,  picked  up  this  song  in  the 
"West,  somewhat  different  in  the  chorus.  The  first  stanza 
was  as  follows  : 

Quand  j  etais  chez  mon  pere, 

Petite  et  jeune  etant, 
M'envoyait  a  la  fontaine,     I  w. 
Pour  pecher  des  poissons,   f 

La  violette  dandlne,  la  violette  donde. 

The  following  rather  free  translation  was  furnished  to 
him  by  Mrs.  Henry  Malon  : 

With  heart  as  wild 

As  joyous  child. 
Lived  Rhoda  of  the  mountain; 

Her  only  wish 

To  seek  the  fish 
In  the  waters  of  the  fountain. 

Oh,  the  violet,  white  and  blue  I 

The  stream  is  deep, 

The  banks  are  steep, 
Down  in  the  tiood  fell  she, 

When  there  rode  by 

Blgh^^  gallantly, 
Three  barons  of  high  degree. 

Oh,  the  violets  white  and  bluel 

"Oh,  tell  us,  fair  maid," 

They  each  one  said, 
"Your  reward  to  the  venturing  knight 

Who  shall  save  your  life 

From  the  water's  strife 
By  his  arm's  unflinching  mitfht." 

Oh.  the  violet,  white  and  blue! 

"Oh!  haste  to  my  side," 

The  maiden  replied, 
"Nor  ask  of  a  recompense  nowl 

When  safe  on  land 

Again  we  stand. 
For  sucn  maters  is  time  enow." 

Oh,  the  violet,  white  and  blue  I 


HM 


ii:;!! 


i  I  i 


I  III 


220  CANADIAN  BOAT  SONGS. 

But  when  all  free, 

Upon  the  lea 
She  found  herself  once  more, 

She  would  not  stay, 

And  sped  away 
Till  she  reached  her  cottage  door. 

Oh,  the  violets,  white  and  blue ! 

Her  casement  by, 

That  maiden  shy 
Began  so  sweet  to  sing-. 

Her  lute  and  voice, 

Did  e'en  rejoice, 
The  early  flowers  of  spring. 

Oh,  the  violet,  white  and  blue  I 

But  the  barons  proud 

Then  spoke  aloud, 
"Thie  is  not  the  boon  we  desire; 

Your  heart  and  love. 

My  pretty  dove, 
Is  the  free  gift  we  require." 

Oh,  the  violets,  white  and  blue  I 

"Oh,  my  heart  so  true, 

Is  not  for  you. 
Nor  for  any  of  high  degree; 

I  have  pledged  my  truth 

To  an  honest  youth. 
With  a  beard  so  comely  to  see  " 

Oh,  the  violet,  white  and  blue ! 

An  American  writer  has  given  in  the  following  verses 
the  impressions  which  the  Boat  Songs  of  the  Voyageurs 
made  upon  him,  as  he  heard  them  approaching  from  a 
distant  point : 

Lines  written  while  at  anchor  in  Kingston  Harbor ^  Lake  On- 
tario,  on  hearing  from  several  Canadian  boats — entering 
from  the  8t.  Lawrence — their  usual  songs.  * 

Hark  1  o'er  the  Lake's  unruffled  wave, 

A  distant  solemn  chant  is  sped ; 
Is  it  some  requiem  at  the  grave? 

Some  hiat  kind  honor  to  the  dead  ? 
'Tis  silent  all— again  begin  ; 

It  is  the  wearied  boatmen's  lay, 
That  hails  alike  the  rising  sun. 

And  his  last  soft  departing  ray. 

(1)  Canniff's  SettUment  of  Upper  Canada,  p.  146,  where 
it  is  attributed  to  the  Boston  Weekly  Magazine,  of  old  date. 


I 


Qg  verses 
Toyageun 
from  a 

Lake  On- 
—entering 


.46,  where 
old  date. 


TOM  MOORE'S  BOAT  SONG.  221 

Forth  from  yon  Island's  dusky  side. 

The  train  of  bateaux  now  ai)pear, 
And  onward  as  they  slowly  glide, 

More  loud  their  chorus  jfrcets  the  ear. 
But,  ah !  the  charnx  that  distance  gave, 

When  first  in  solemn  sound  their  song 
Crept  slowly  o'er  the  limpid  wave. 

Is  lost  in  notes  full  loud  and  strong. 

Row,  brothers,  row,  with  songs  of  joy, 

For  now  in  view  a  port  appears  ; 
No  rapids  here  our  course  annoy, 

No  hidden  rocks  excite  our  fears, 
Be  this  sweet  night  to  slumber  given. 

And  when  the  morning  lights  the  wave, 
We'll  give  our  matin  songs  to  heaven, 

Odr  course  to  bless,  our  lives  to  save. 

TOM  MOORE's  boat  SONG, — (1804.) 

In  the  years  1803-4  the  social  favorite  and  graceful  writer 
Thomas  Moore,  made  a  hasty  tour  through  the  Middle  and 
Northern  States  and  Canada.  It  would  appear  from  his 
writings,  and  it  has  been  strongly  intimated,  that  this  visit 
to  America,  was  designed  to  afford  capital  for  satire  and 
song  in  the  interest  of  British  prejudice,  and  under  the  po- 
litical agitations  of  the  day,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that 
this  result  was  in  some  degree  realized. 

But  whatever  may  have  been  the  animus  or  the  effect 
of  his  writings,  we  may  well  afford,  after  this  lapse  of 
time,  to  forgive  him,  since  he  has  left  us  some  that  throw  a 
charm  over  the  places  that  he  described,  and  impart  an  in- 
terest due  to  the  smoothness  of  their  measure,  and  the 
poetic  sentiments  which  they  embody.  His  lyrics  entitled 
" The  Lake  of  the  Dismal  Swamp,"  and  "The  Canadian 
Boat  Song,"  are  of  this  number,  Moore  was  born  in  1779, 
and  when  he  passed  this  way,  in  1804,  was  therefore  about 
twenty-five  years  of  age.     He  had  already  gained  popular 

notoriety  by  his  writings ;  and  the  extraordinary  attentions 
14 


I 


JUI 


^^;? 


TOM  MOORE'S  BOAT  SONG. 


m  I 

fcf 
if 

ill 


ti 


i  i 


!    ''ii 


111!  1 


111  ' 

ill  il     : 


!  I  I 


I  i 


Hi  i 


!l 


I  i 


that  were  paid  to  him,  especially  among  English  Officials 
in  Canada  and  elsewhere,  gave  a  prominence  to  his  presence 
wherever  he  travelled.  In  a  letter  to  his  mother  written 
soon  after  his  passage  down  the  St.  Lawrence  from  Niaga- 
ra in  a  sailing  vessel  in  August,  1804,  he  shows  how  ex- 
ceedingly flattering  to  his  vanity  these  attentions  were; 
making  him  at  once  satisfied  with  himself,  and  with  all  the 
rest  of  mankind.     He  says: 

"In  my  passage  across  Lake  Ontario,  I  met  with  the 
same  politeness  which  has  been  so  gratifying,  and  indeed 
convenient  to  me,  all  along  my  route.  The  Captain  refused 
to  take  what  I  know  is  always  given,  and  begged  me  to 
consider  all  my  friends  as  included  in  the  compliment, 
which  a  line  from  me  would  at  any  time  entitle  them  to. 
Even  a  poor  watch-maker  at  Niagara,  who  did  a  very  neces- 
sary and  difficult  job  for  me,  insisted  I  should  not  think 
of  paying  him,  but  accept  it  as  the  only  mark  of  respect 
he  could  pay  one  he  had  heard  so  much  of,  but  never  ex- 

fected  to  meet  with.  This  is  the  very  nectar  of  life,  and 
hope,  I  ti'ust,  it  is  not  vanity  to  which  the  cordial  owes 
all- its  sweetness.  No;  it  gives  me  a  feeling  towards  all 
mankind,  which  I  am  convinced  is  not  unamiable:  the  im- 
pulse which  begins  with  self,  spreads  a  circle  instantaneous- 
ly round  it,  which  includes  all  the  sociabilities  and  benev- 
olences of  the  heart.  "1 

As  to  the  circumstances  under  which  the  Boat  Song  was 
written,  these  can  best  be  learned  from  his  own  pen.  In 
a  note  appended  to  the  full  edition  of  his  writings,  we  find 
the  following  account : 

"I  wrote  these  words  to  an  air,  which  our  boatmen 
sung  to  us  frequently.  The  wind  was  so  unfavorable  that 
they  were  obliged  to  row  all  the  way,  and  we  were  five 

(1)  Memoirs,  Journal  and  Correspondence  of  Thomas 
Moore,  i,  173. 

Mr.  Moore  died  Feb.  25,  1852,  at  about  seventy- three 
years  of  age. 


i !  liiini; 


TOM  MOORE'S  BOAT  80NQ. 


2M 


ficials 
esence 
vritten 
Niaga- 
3W  ex- 
8  were ; 
all  the 


ith  the 
indeed 
refused 
i  me  to 
pliment, 
hem  to. 
ry  neces- 
ot  think 
I  respect 
ever  ex- 
life,  and 
lial  owes 
wards  all 
the  im- 
Qtaneous- 
id  benev- 


3ong  was 
pen.  In 
,  we  find 

r  boatmen 
)rable  that 
were  five 

Thomas 
7enty-three 


days  in  descending  the  River  from  Kingston  to  Montreal, 
exposed  to  au  intense  sun  during  the  day,  and  at  night 
forced  to  take  shelter  from  the  dews  in  anv  miserable  huts 
upon  the  banks  that  would  receive  us.  But  the  magnifi- 
cent scenery  of  the  St.  Lawrence  repays  all  these  difficul- 
ties, Our  voyageurs  had  good  voices,  and  sang  perfectly 
in  tune  together.  The  original  words  of  the  air,  to  which 
I  adapted  these  stanzas,  appearetl  to  be  a  long,  incoherent 
story,  of  which  I  could  understand  but  little,  from  the 
barbarous  pronunciation  of  the  Canadians.     It  begins : 

Dans  mon  chemin  j'ai  rencontre 
Deux  cavaliers  tres  bien  monies: 

And  the  refrain  to  every  verse  was : 

A  r  ombre  d'  un  bois  je  m'  en  vals  Jouer 
A  1  ombre  d*  un  bois  je  m'  en  vais  danser. 

"I  ventured  to  harmonize  this  air.  and  have  published 
it.  Without  that  charm  which  association  gives  to  every 
little  memorial  of  ocenes  or  feelings  that  are  past,  the 
melody  may  perhaps  be  thought  common  and  trifling;  but 
I  remember  when  we  had  entered,  at  sunset,  upon  one  of 
those  beautiful  lakes,  into  which  the  St.  Lawrence  so 
grandly  and  unexpectedly  opens,  I  have  heard  this  sim- 
ple air  with  a  pleasure  which  the  finest  compositions  of 
the  first  masters  have  never  given  me ;  and  now,  there  is 
not  a  note  of  it  which  does  not  recall  to  nay  memory  the 
dip  of  our  oars  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  night  our  boat 
down  the  rapids,  and  all  those  new  and  fanciful  impres- 
sions to  which  my  heart  was  alive,  during  the  whole  of 
this  interesting  voyage. 

"  The  stanzas  are  supposed  to  be  sung  by  those  voyageurs, 
who  go  to  the  Grand  Portage  by  the  Utawas  River." 

Et  regimen  cantus  horiatur. — Quintillian. 

Faintly,  as  tolls  the  evening  chime, 

Our  voices  keep  tune,  and  our  voices  keep  time ; 

Soon  as  the  woods  on  shore  look  dim 

We'll  sing  at  St.  Ann's  our  parting  hymn. 
Row,  brothers,  row,  the  stream  runs  fast, 
The  rapids  are  near,  and  the  daylight's  past. 

Why  should  we  yet  our  sail  unfurl? 

There  is  not  a  breath  the  blue  wave  to  curl  I 

But  when  the  wind  blows  off  the  shore, 

Oh  !  sweetly  we'll  rest  on  our  weary  oar. 
Blow,  breezes,  blow,  the  stream  runs  fast, 
The  rapids  are  near,  and  the  daylight's  past. 


^i^m 


II'    ::fl 


IS      " 


m  PHILIP  p.  BLISS. 

Utawa's  tide!  this  tremblinj?  moon, 
Shall  see  us  float  over  the  HurKes  soon . 
Saint  of  this  greon  isle  !  hear  our  prayer, 
Oh  1  grant  us  cool  heavens  and  favoring  air. 

Blow,  breezes,  blow,  the  stream  runs  fast. 

The  rapids  are  near,  and  the  daylight's  past. 

We  have  met  with  two  translations  of  Moore's  Boat 
Song  into  French,  but  neither  of  them  are  of  much  merit. 

Besides  these  Boat  Songs,  the  Islands  present  many 
Poetic  Associations  that  give  to  them  peculiar  interest. 
The  late  Caleb  Lyon,  of  Lyonsdale,  many  years  since, 
published  a  poem  somewhat  after  the  style  of  Byron's 
"Isles  of  Greece,"  that  has  been  so  often  reproduced  that 
we  deem  it  proper  not  to  include  it  in  the  present  volume. 

The  religious  meetings  that  have  been  held  upon  Welles- 
ley  Island  have  given  rise  to  some  poetic  reminiscences  of 
peculiar  interest,  especially  those  relating  to  Mr.  Philip  P. 
Bliss,  whose  participation  in  the  Sunday  School  Parlia- 
ment, in  1876,  w^as  brought  sadly  to  mind  by  the  railroad 
casualty  that,  before  the  next  year,  ended  his  life  at  Ashta- 
bula, Ohio.  This  event  has  been  made  the  subject  of 
memorial  verses  by  Miss  Winslow,  of  Brooklyn.  The 
following  are  the  opening  stanzas  of  this  poem: 

Last  year  he  stood  amongst  us  all, 

Acknowledged  King  of  Song, 
Last  year  we  beard  his  deep  tones  fall 

The  river  side  along ; 
We  saw  his  reverend  mien,  we  knew 

His  spirit  true  and  bold, 
But  of  our  singer's  inner  life 

The  half  was  never  told. 

We  heard  the  story,  as  it  flew 

On  the  western  wires  along, 
With  bated  breath  we  heard  it  true, 

God  took  our  King  of  Song ; 
We  read  of  fiery  chariot  wheels, 

Of  wintry  waters  cold. 
But  angels  saw  the  agony— 

The  half  was  never  told. 


m 


ifl: 


Boat 
merit. 

many 
iterest. 

since, 
Jyron's 
ed  that 
olume. 

Welles- 
jnces  of 

hilip  P. 
Parlia- 
railroad 
t  Asbta- 
bject  of 
H.     The 


THE  "MILLE  ILE8 "  OF   CREMAZIE,  THE 
CANADIAN  POET.i 

This  poem  extends  through  more  than  fifty  stanzas,  in 
whicli  the  author  lets  his  fancy  dwell  upon  what  he  would 
do,  were  he  a  swallow.  He  would  fly  to  where  the  snow- 
flocks  fall,  and  make  the  wildest  places  echo  to  his  song. 
He  would  visit  Spain,  where  the  almond  blooms;  the 
gilded  dome  of  Alcazar,  and  the  Royal  Palace  where  the 

(1)  Joseph  Octave  Cremazie,  a  native  of  Lower  Canada, 
was  gifted  with  a  fine  poetic  talent,  and  produced  several 
pieces  that  have  been  greatly  admired  for  the  elegance  of 
their  style,  and  the  highly  poetic  sentiments  which  they 
express.  The  poem  above  noticed,  was  published  in  La 
Litterature  Canadknne,  1850  li  1860.     ii,  107. 

M.  Cremazie  was  a  merchant  at  Quebec,  but  proving 
unsuccessful  in  business,  he  went  from  Canada  to  Brazil, 
and  from  thence  to  France,  and  died  at  Havre,  January  17, 
1879. 

Mr.  Lareau,  in  his  Histoire  de  la  Litterature  Canadienne, 
in  speaking  of  the  style  of  this  poet,  says : 

"  There  is  something  in  Cremazie's  talent  that  is  found 
only  in  those  of  native  genius — it  is  inspiration.  Bjr  sud- 
den and  passionate  flights,  he  carries  you  into  the  highest 
spheres  of  poetry  and  thought.  He  adorns  his  style  with 
coloring  the  most  brilliant,  and  in  his  hand  everything  is 
transformed  and  animated.  He  invests  the  most  common 
of  events  with  features  that  elevate  and  magnify,  yet  in 
this  exuberance  of  coloring,  and  this  wealth  of  words  and 
ideas,  he  in  no  degree  impairs  the  simplicity  of  his  subject. 
The  poetic  thought  of  his  writings  is  clear  and  refined,  and 
his  verse  is  natural,  and  flows  from  an  abundant  source." 

It  is  understood  that  a  collection  of  his  poems  is  in 
course  of  preparation  for  the  press. 


£26 


THE  MILLE  ILES  OF  CREMAZIE. 


■ff 


Caliph  Omar  reigued;  Cordova,  and  Old  Castile;  Leon, 
with  its  brazen  gates,  and  Seville;  the  Escurial  and  the 
Alliamhra,  and  river-banks  fragrant  with  opening  flowers. 
He  would  view  the  City  of  Venice,  and  the  Lions  of  St. 
Mark;  listen  to  the  serenades  of  an  Italian  Summer  even- 
ing, and,  in  short,  explore  on  light  and  rapid  wing  what- 
ever region  or  place  the  wide  world  offers — in  Europe,  in 
India,  or  in  the  land  of  the  Nile,  that  awakens  poetic  sen- 
timent, displays  pictures  of  beauty,  or  recalls  the  memory 
of  great  events. 

Having  thus  touched,  as  it   were,  a  thousand  islands  of 
interest  throughout  the  world,  he  says: 


Mais  quand  dans  Ics  tlots  de 

lumiere, 
Viendrait   lo    printemps    em- 

baume 
Etendre,  en  chantant,  sur  la 

terre, 
Son  manteau  vert  et  perfume. 

Avec    les    chansons    printan- 

ieres, 
Avec  le  soliol  matinal, 
Avec  les  fraiches  primoieres, 
Je  reviondrais  au  del  natal. 

Quand  Eve  a  I'arbre  de  la  vie, 
De  9a  main  eut  cueilli  la  mort, 
Sur  la  terre  a'  jamais  tietrie, 
On  vit  paraitre  le  remord. 

Puis  Adam  s'en  f  ut  sur  la  terre, 

§tui  deja  pleurait  avec  lui, 
'abeuver  a  la  source  amere 
Ou  nous  allons  boire  aujourd- 
'hui. 

Bt  les  Archanges  sur  leurs  ailes 
Prenant  1'  Eden  silencieux, 
Auhaut  des  spheres  eternel- 

les 
Le  deposerent  dans  les  cieux ; 

Mais,  en  s'elancant  dans  I'es- 

pace 
lis  laisserent  sur  leur  chemiu 
Toniber    pour   Indiquer   leur 

trace 
Qaelqi^esfleura  du  jardin  divin. 


Bt  ces  tleurs  aux  couleurs  mo- 
biles. 
Tombant  duns  le  tleuve  geant, 
Flrent  eclore  les  Millos  lies, 
Ce  panidis  du  Saint-Laurent. 


Mille  lies!  collier  magniflque 
De  diaraant  et  de  sapnir, 
Qu'eut  prefere  le  monde  an- 
tique 
A  Tor  le  plus  brillant  d'Ophir. 

O  belle  et  8u])llme  coronne. 
Que  pose  sur  son  large  front, 
Le  Saint-Laurent,  quand  sur  le 

trone, 
Que  ses  lacs  immenses  lul  font. 

II  vient,  eut  montrant  a  la  terre 
Son  arc-en-ciel  eblouissant, 
Faire  reienir  le  tonnerre 
Du  Niagara  bondlssant. 

Mille  lies !  rainte  raerveille, 
Oasis  sur  les  flots  dormant, 
Que  Ton  prendrait  pour  la  cor- 

beille 
Qu'apportelamaind'unamant. 

Dans  vos  pittoresques  asiles, 
Trouvant  la  palx  et  le  bouheur, 
Je   couleraia  des    jours  tran- 

quilles 
En  chantant  au  fond  de  moa 

coeur. 


THE  MILLS  ILE8  OF  OREMAZTE. 


ee? 


Nl  rorffuilleuse  Andalousie, 
Ni  les  riva^us  do  Cadix, 
Nl  le  royaurae  de  Murcie 
Etlncelant  coinnio  un  rubis: 

NI  cette  rive  poetlque 
Ou  brillent  Florence  et  Milan, 
Nl  Home  et  su  spiendeur  an- 
tique 

Nl  Naples  avee  son  volcan  ; 
Nl  cette  mer  enchanteresse 
Ou  Stamboul  eleve  sea  tours; 
NI  ces  vallons  pleins  detrlstese 
Ou  possont  les  tiers  Giaours; 


Nl  rinde  et  sa  rlche  nature 
Ou  re8plen<lit  Para-Brahma, 
Nl  068  oc<»uar  de  verdure, 
Que  celebnu't  Kalldiisa ; 

Nl  la  terre  den  pyramides, 
Nl  tons  les  tresorsde  Memphis, 
Nl  le  Nil  et  ses  Hots  rapldes 
Ou  vlent  se  mirer  Osiris. 

NeSauralent  Jamal$>  me  redire 
Ce  que  nn(  dlsent  vos  echos, 
Cg  que  souplre  cette  lyre, 
Qui  chante  au  mll«!U  des  ros- 
eaux.  I 


(1)  "But  when  with  floods  of  light,  tlie  bahny  spring- 
time comes,  witli  its  melodies,  its  mantle  of  green  and  its 
perfumes — its  vernal  songs  with  the  morning  sun,  and  all 
the  freshness  of  awakening  life,  I  would  return  to  my  na- 
tive skies. 


de  men 


"When  Eve  plucked  Death  from  the  Tree  of  Life,  and 
brought  tears  and  sorrow  upon  earth,  Adam  was  driven 
out  into  the  world  to  mourn  with  her,  and  taste  from  the 
bitter  spring  that  we  drink  to-day. 

"Then  Angels  on  their  wings,  bore  the  silent  Eden  to 
the  Eternal  Spheres  on  high,  and  placed  it  in  the  heavens — 
but  in  passing  through  space,  they  dropped  along  the  way, 
to  mark  their  course,  some  flowers  from  the  Garden  Divine. 
These  flowers  of  changing  hues,  falling  into  the  Great 
River,  became  the  Thousand  Isles — the  Paradise  of  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

"The  Thousand  Isles!  magnificent  necklace  of  diamond 
and  sapphire  that  those  of  the  ancient  world  would  have 
preferred  to  the  brightest  gold  of  Ophir!  Sublime  and 
beautiful  crown  that  rests  upon  the  ample  brow  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  on  her  throne  of  the  vast  Lakes  that  display  the 
tinted  rainbow,  and  return  the  echoes  of  thundering  Niag- 
ara! The  Thousand  Isles — charming  wonder — oasis  on  the 
sleeping  waves — that  which  might  be  thought  a  flower- 
basket  borne  by  a  lover's  hand  !  In  thy  picturesque  re- 
treats, I  find  naught  but  peace  and  happiness,  and  spend 
the  tranquil  days  in  singing  the  lays  of  a  heart  content ! 

"Not  proud  Andalusia — nor  the  banks  of  Cadiz — nor  the 
Kingdom  of  the  Moors  sparkling  like  rubies — nor  the  poetic 
scenes  of  Florence  and  Milan — nor  Rome  with  its  ancient 


SHI 


M8 


THE  MILLE  ILE8  OF  CEEMAZIE. 


■I .    "■    i     A 


We  much  regret  that  we  could  not  here  introduce  the 
whole  of  Cremazie's  Poem.  The  portion  we  give  affords, 
however,  sufficient  evidence  of  his  style,  and  T/ill  justify 
the  opinion  that  has  been  expressed  concerning  his  poetic 
talent. 


splendors — nor  Naples  with  its  volcano — nor  that  charmed 
sea  where  Stamboul  lifts  its  towers — nor  the  vales  of  sor- 
row where  the  fierce  Giaours  dwell — nor  India  in  its  native 
wealth,  where  Para-Brahma  shines,  or  the  seas  of  verdure 
that  Kalidasa  celebrate — nor  the  land  of  the  pyramids — 
nor  all  the  treasures  of  Memphis — nor  the  rapids  of  the 
Nile,  where  we  seek  and  admire  Osiris — shall  ever  thy 
echoes  repeat,  from  the  notes  of  this  lyre  which  is  tuned 
amid  these  charming  scenes. " 


!i  :   ^1 


i  1 


PARKS  AKD  ENCAMPMENTS. 

THE  THOUSAND  ISLAND  PARK  ASSOCIATION. 

The  idea  of  establishing  an  InterDational  Camp  Ground 
and  Summer  residence  of  a,  strictly  religious  character  was 
originated  in  1874,  and  has  been  attributed  to  the  Rev.  J. 
F.  Dayan,  of  Watertown,  ^  The  suggestion  was  readily  re- 
ceived by  prominent  Methodists  on  both  sides  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  an  excursion  was  planned  early  in  August 
of  that  year,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  location.  It 
was  composed  of  some  fifty  clergymen  and  laymen,  and 
visited  Alexandria,  and  the  lower  end  of  Wellesley  Island, 
and  parts  adjacent.  On  the  16th  of  September,  another  ex- 
cursion was  arranged,  and  after  due  consideration,  the  head 
of  the  island  was  selected,  as  from  its  exposure  to  westerly 
winds,  and  otherwise  fine  location,  it  was  deemed  most 
favorable.  An  organization  was  formed  under  Chapter 
117,  Laws  of  1853,  entitled  "An  Act  to  authorize  the  for- 
mation of  Corporations  for  the  erection  of  Buildings.'* 
These  articles  were  dated  on  the  last  day  of  that  year,  and 
filed  with  the  County  Clerk  January  29th,  and  with  the 
Secretary  of  State,  February  1st,  1875,  under  the  name  of 
"The  Thousand  Island  Camp-Meeting  Association";  but 


(1)  The  Thousand  Island  Park  at  Wellesley  Island ;  Pro- 
gress as  an  International  Centre  of  Moral,  Reb'gious  and  Sci- 
entific Thought,  and  Health-giving  Summer  Besort.     By  Ar 
thur  W.  Moore.    Montreal,  1877,  pp.  267. 


THOUSAND  ISLAND  PARK. 

by  a  Special  Act  passed  Jan.  18th,  1879,  this  was  changed 
to  the  name  given  at  the  head  of  ^his  article.  From  its  lo- 
cation, it  was  necessary  that  the  trustees  should  be  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  although  many  Canadians  have  taken 
an  interest  in  the  enterprise  from  its  beginning. 

The  capital  assumed  by  the  Corporation  was  $15,000; 
shares,  $10;  and  duration  50  years.  The  Corporators 
named  in  the  Articles,  were  John  F.  Moffett,  Isaac  L.  Hunt, 
jr.,  John  Ferdinand  Dayan,  A.  P.  Baltz,  Jeremiah  Wait, 
Charles  W.  Haven,  and  G.  W.  Candee.  The  iSrst  Trustees 
were  Willard  Ives,  of  Watertown;  Eliphalet  Remington, 
ofllion;  James  Johnson,  of  Clayton;  Rev.  J.  F.  Dayirn, 
of  "Watertov'!! ,  Rev.  E.  O.  Haven,  Rev.  D.  D.  Lore  and 
Rev.  E.  C.  Curtis,  of  Syracuse;  Rev.  M.  D.  Kinney,  of 
Watertown,  and  A.  D.  Shaw,  of  Toronto. 

The  management  is  under  those  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal denomination,  although  many  persons  not  of  this  con- 
nection have  residences  upon  the  grounds,  and  participate 
in  the  proceedings. 

Early  in  1875,  excursions  were  repeatedly  made  for  the 
purchase  of  lots,  as  soon  as  surveys  permitted.  The  lots 
were  about  40  by  80  feet  in  size,  and  their  prices  ranged 
from  $25  to  $100,  according  to  location.  The  site  was 
mostly  covered  by  a  thin  growth  of  deciduous  trees,  with 
some  pasture  ground,  embracing  a  tract  of  about  983  acres, 
comprising  what  is  known  upon  Capt.  Owen's  British 
Chart  of  1818  as  TalaVERA  Head.  It  was  surveyed  by 
Frank  A.  Hinds,  of  Watertow ,  early  in  1^.75.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  enterprise,  a  series  of  regulations  was  adopt 


MP 


THOUSAND  ISLAND  PARK. 


2S1 


langed 

its  lo- 

sitizena 

3  taken 

H5,000; 
)orator8 
i.  Hunt, 
1  Wait, 
rrustees 
aington, 
Dayi?n, 
iOre  and 
nney,  of 

t  Episco- 
this  con- 
irticipate 

for  tbe 
The  lots 
I  ranged 
site  was 
ees,  with 
983  acres, 
British 
veyed  by 
A.t  the  be- 
^as  adopt 


ed,  consistent  with  the  object  in  view,  among  which  was 
a  rule  forbidding  any  travel  to  or  from  the  grounds  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  the  prohibition  of  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits  at 
all  times.  To  give  effect  to  these  rules,  the  lauds  under 
water  have  been  acquired  along  the  adjacent  shores,  so 
that  an  action  of  trespass  might  be  brought  in  case  of  at- 
tempted evasion  of  these  regulations. 

A  dedication  of  the  premises  was  held  on  the  evening  of 
July  21st,  1875,  when  a  sermon  was  preached  by  Chancel- 
lor E.  O.  Havej'.  (now  Bishop  Haven),  from  Matthew  v. 
1.,  and  a  camp  meeting  of  two  weeks'  duration  followed. 
These  camp-meetings  have  been  since  held  annually,  and 
for  1880  the  appointment  extends  from  July  11th  to  18th. 

In  1876,  there  was  added  a  Sundav  School  Parliament — 
in  1877,  an  International  Christian  Temperance  Camp- 
Meeting,  and  an  ^Estheticand  scientific  Conference,  which 
have  each  been  held  since  annuall3\  In  1880,  the  Interna- 
tional Society  for  Investigating:  and  Promoting  the  Science 
of  Teaching,  and  a  Course  of  Lectures  on  Social  Science  are 
for  the  first  time  announced  in  the  pro;^ramme. 

About  two  hundred  cottages  have  been  built  upon  the 
grounds  of  the  Thousand  Island  Park.  Their  meetings 
are  held  in  a  large  tent  at  the  head  of  St.  Lawrence  Avenue. 

Not  the  least  interesting  feature  of  this  Association — and 
the  same  may  l>e  remarked  of  all  the  others  that  have  since 
been  formed  for  Summer  residence  and  for  Social  and  Re- 
ligious improvement  in  this  region, — is  its  international 
character.  It  brings  together  with  equal  freedom,  and,  as 
it  were,  upon  neutral  ground,  the  citizens  of  both  countries, 


K 


282 


WESTMINSTER  PARK. 


and  tends  to  the  promotion  of  that  friendly  feeling  that  re- 
sults from  personal  acquaintance,  without  the  least  refer- 
ence to  differences  of  Government,  or  the  political  relations 
that  may  have  been  established  by  international  law. 

This  point  was  beautifully  expressed  by  the  Rev.  T. 
Bowman  Stephenson,  B.  A.,  who  in  one  of  the  visits  he 
has  made  to  America  in  the  interest  of  Homes  for  destitute 
Boys  in  England  and  in  Canada,  attended  the  Sunday 
School  Parliament  at  the  Thousand  Island  Park,  in  Au- 
gust, 1877.  Being  upon  the  platform,  he  came  forward  in 
the  interval  between  two  addresses,  and  sung  before  an  im- 
mense audience  a  piece  written  in  the  interest  of  the  cause 
that  he  represented,  but  inserted  upon  this  occasion  the 
following  impromptu  stanza,  that  commanded  unbounded 

applause : 

"A  line  runs  through  these  Thousand  Isles 

That  stud  the  river's  breast ; 
All  Northward  owns  Victoria's  sway, 

The  Union  claims  the  I'est. 
The  Statesmen  say  the  line  exists 

In  treaty-parchment  fine, 
But  when  I  hither  came  to-day 

I  did  not  find  the  line." 


a 


THE  WESTMINSTER  PARK  ASSOCIATION  OF    THE  THOUSAND 

ISLANDS. 

This  Association  was  incorporated  under  the  same  act  as 
the  one  above  noticed,  by  articles  dated  September  10, 
1877,  and  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Sep- 
tember 17,  and  in  County  Clerk's  office  on  18th  of  the 
same  month.  The  proposed  term  is  fifty  years ;  capital, 
$30,000;  shares  $100  each,  and  number  of  Trustees,  9. 
The  corporators  were  Andrew  Cornwall,  of  Alexandria 


WESTMINSTER  PARK. 


23S 


hat  re- 

refer- 

lations 

,ev.   T. 
isits  he 
estitute 
Sunday 
in  Au- 
ivard  in 
e  an  im- 
le  cause 
3ion  the 
bounded 


lOXJSAND 

me  act  as 
niber  10, 
ate,  Sep- 
h  of  the 
;  capital, 
iistees,  9. 
lexandria 


Bay;  Solon  D.  Hungerford,  of  Adams;  John  D,  Hunting- 
ton, of  Watertown ;  Rosell  C.  CoUis,  of  Theresa ;  George 
Gilbert,  of  Carthage,  and  Stephen  B.  Van  Duzee,  of 
Gouverneur.  The  first  Trustees  were  the  persons  above 
named,   together  with  Patrick    H.   Agau,   of    Syracuse, 

Lewis  Lawrence,  of  ,  and  Philemon  H.  Fowler,  of 

Utica, 

This  Association,  which  is  under  Presbj^'teriau  manage- 
ment, purchased  a  tract  of  five  hundred  acres  of  laud  on 
the  lower  end  of  Wells  or  Wellesley  Island,  known  on 
Capt.  Owen's  chart  as  Point  Yittgria,  directly  opposite 
the  village  of  Alexandria  Bay,  and  about  half  a  mile  dis- 
tant. In  addition  to  this,  it  owns  Mary  Island,  containing 
twelve  and  a  half  acres,  having  in  all  a  frontage  of  about 
five  miles. 

The  survey  of  these  grounds  was  made  by  Mr.  Hinds, 
of  Watertown,  in  the  Autumn  of  1877,  and  an  opening 
sale  of  lots  was  appointed  to  be  held  on  the  22d  of  May, 
1878. 

Upon  an  eminence  called  Mount  Beulah,  a  Chapel  hav 
ing  five  sides,  of  sufficient  size  when  the  sash  are  raised 
to  accommodate  nearly  a  thousand    persons,   has    been 
erected,  and  from  its  tower,  136  feet  high,  a  superb  view 
of  the  River  and  Islands  is  obtained. 

A  large  Boarding  Hall  and  a  Dormitory  have  been 
erected,  and  well  finished  and  furnished. 

In  addition  to  religious  meetings  on  the  Sabi>ath  and  at 
other  times,  a  Sabbath  school  Assembly  was  arranged  for 
the  year  1879.  The  programme  for  1880  had  not  been  ar- 
ranged at  the  time  of  our  writing. 


11 


11 


mt 


I 


Hi 


234 


ROUND  ISLAND  PARK. 


(  !'; 


(: 


:  i 


I       : 


!    ■ 


ROUND  IBLAICD  PARK. 

This  AsBOciation  was  formed  under  the  same  general  act 
as  the  preceding,  by  articles  signed  August  30,  1879,  and 
filed  the  same  day  with  the  County  Clerk,  and  with  the 
Secretary  of  State,  September  6th.  Capital  $50,000; 
shares  $100,  and  number  of  Trustees,  5.  The  corporators 
and  first  Trustees  were  John  G.  Harbottle,  Charles  xi. 
Waterman,  George  L.  Davis,  John  F.  Moffett,  all  of  Wat- 
ertown,  and  Ambrose  E.  Sawyer,  of  Carthage. 

The  Island  includes  about  175  acres,  and  has  been  laid 
out  into  about  400  lots,  besides  avenues,  ornamental  parks, 
pic-nic  grounds,  etc.  The  principal  avenues  have  been 
graded,  and  a  dock  built,  260  feet  long,  with  14  feet  depth 
of  water  in  front,  allowing  the  largest  Steamers  to  ap- 
proach, A  hotel  is  in  course  of  erection,  50  by  200  feet 
on  the  ground,  and  four  stories  high,  with  accommodations 
for  above  400  guests.  The  first  sale  of  even-numbered 
lots  occurred  October  14  and  15,  1879,  and  at  the  beginning 
of  May,  1880,  87  had  been  sold.  Most  of  the  owners  are 
putting  up  cottages. 

The  Island  1  is  one  mile  long,  and  from  800  to  1,200  feet 
wide,  and  lies  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  main 
shore,  and  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Clayton  Village.  This 
park  is  under  the  especial  patronage  of  the  Baptists,  al- 
though many  persons  not  connected  with  this  denomina- 

(1)  Named  on  the  charts  of  the  U.  S.  Engineers  as 
"Pearson's  or  Round  Island."  The  adjoining  Island 
known  as  "Little  Round  Island,"  is  also  known  on  the 
charts  of  both  governments  as  "  Colborne  Island." 


METHODIST  CAMP-GROUNDS. 


W 


il  act 
,  and 
hthe 
},000; 
rators 
les  A. 
Wat- 

3n  laid 
parks, 
e  been 
t  depth 

to  ap- 
200  feet 
)dations 
imbered 
iginning 

ners  are 

,200  feet 
the  main 
e.  This 
ptists,  al- 
enomina- 

iueers  as 
g  Island 
ni  on  the 


tion  have  taken  an  interest  in  the  enterprise,  both  in  the 
States  and  in  Canada.  No  programme  for  the  first  season 
has  been  as  yet  announced. 

PROSPECT  PARK. 

This  enterprise  has  not,  at  the  time  of  writing,  been  so 
far  matured  as  to  enable  us  to  announce  its  plan  of  organi- 
zation, nor  have  Articles  of  Association  been  filed.  A 
tract  of  fifty  acres  upon  Bartlett  Point,  about  a  mile  above 
the  depot  at  Clayton,  has  been  laid  out  into  lots  and  streets, 
and  a  considerable  amount  of  grading  and  improvement 
has  been  done.  It  will  differ  from  the  preceding  in  its 
being  on  the  main  shore.  The  Point  commands  a  fine 
prospect,  and  was  the  scene  of  an  engagement  in  the  war 
of  1812-15,  described  on  page  70  of  this  volume. 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  CAMP   GROU    D. 

This  is  in  the  town  of  Morristown,  St.  Lawrence  Co., 
N.  Y. ,  about  a  mile  below  the  village,  and  comprises  about 
ten  acres.  It  was  opened  in  1874,  and  is  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Methodists  of  New  York  and  Canada,  acting 
jointly,  through  Trustees  appointed  on  each  side.  A  camp- 
meeting  is  held  once  a  year,  usually  beginning  in  the  latter 
part  of  July.  Convenient  access  is  afforded  at  these  times, 
both  by  the  Utica  and  Black  River  Railroad,  and  by  River 
Steamers. 

THE   ST.   LAWRENCE   CENTRAL  CAMP  GROUND. 

This  is  on  the  north  shore,  in  the  first  concession  of 
Elizabeth  Township,  Ontario,  three  miles  and  a  half  above 


X 


ii| 


t|  I    n 


I 


III  i 


1 


S36 


METHODIST  CAMP-QR0UND8. 


Brockville,  and  is  held  and  controlled  by  the  Bay  of  Quinte 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  em- 
braces about  25  acres,  finely  wooded,  and  was  purchased 
in  1875.  It  has  a  Tabernacle,  a  Boarding  House,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  cottages.  It  is  designed  not  only 
for  camp -meetings,  but  as  a  place  of  Summer  residence. 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  THOUSAND  ISLANDS. 

There  is  much  Geological  interest  in  the  rock-formations 
of  this  part  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  in  the  evidences  that 
they  present  as  to  the  changes  that  the  earth's  surface  has 
undergone  since  the  beginning.  For  the  most  part,  the 
Islands  consist  of  gneiss  rock,  belonging  to  the  Laurentian 
Period,  which  here  form  a  connecting  link  between  the  vast 
Primary  Region,  so  called,  of  Upper  Canada,  and  an  exten- 
sive district  of  the  same  in  Northern  New  York.  This  gneiss 
is  generally  obscurely  stratified,  but  with  much  confusion 
in  the  lines  of  original  deposit,  as  if  they  had  been  softened 
by  heat  and  distorted  by  pressure,  and  the  stratification,  such 
as  it  is,  is  often  highly  inclined.  The  rock  is  composed 
largely  of  a  reddish  feldspar,  with  variable  proportions  of 
quartz  and  hornblende,  and  occasional  particles  of  mag- 
netic iron  ore.  In  some  places  on  the  New  York  side,  it  is 
found  to  contain  dykes  of  trap  and  greenstone,  that  ramify 
into  thin  veins,  as  if  injected  under  great  presure,  and  in  a 


'q-^ 


^uinte 
[t  em- 
jliased 
and  a 
3t  only 
mce. 


DS. 

•mations 
ices  that 
face  lias 
mrt,  the 
burentian 
L  the  vast 
m  exten- 
lis  gneiss 
lonfusion 
softened 
Lion,  such 
composed 
)rtions  of 
3  of  mag- 
side,  it  is 
at  ramify 
and  in  a 


QEOLOOT  OF  THOUSAND  ISLANDS.        237 

perfectly  liquid  form.  It  also  contains,  in  Jefferson  and  St. 
Lawrence  counties,  most  interesting  crystalline  mineral 
forms,  in  great  variety,  and  in  Rossie  lead  was  formerly 
mined  in  this  rock  to  a  large  amount. 

Upon  one  of  the  Thousand  Islands  opposite  Gananoque, 
the  gneiss  rock  is  quarried  for  cemetery  monuments,  which 
are  sent  to  Montreal  for  polishing,  and  are  thought  by 
many  to  be  as  beautiful  as  the  red  Scotch  granite  for  this 
use.  The  rock  is  there  also  quarried  for  paving  blocks, 
and  other  uses. 

At  Gananoque,  and  at  various  places  among  the  Islands, 
the  Potsdam  Sandstone  occurs  in  thick  masses,  rising  into 
cliffs  fifty  feet  or  more  above  the  river,  and  affording  a  fine 
material  for  building,  being  easily  worked  when  freshly 
quarried,  and  hardening  upon  exposure  to  the  air.  A  little 
back  from  that  town,  gneiss  forms  the  principal  rock,  rising 
in  naked  ridges,  with  intervening  plains  that  indicate  the 
presence  of  level  strata  of  limestone  or  sandstone  beneath. 
In  this  region,  white  crystalline  limestone,  steatite  and 
various  other  minerals  occur. 

Before  reaching  Brockville,  and  for  a  long  distance  be- 
low, Calciferous  Sandstone,  and  the  older  limestones  con- 
stitute the  only  rock  in  situ,  and  afford  excellent  quarries 
of  building  stone.  These  strata  are  for  the  most  part  level, 
and  the  very  flat  region  in  Jefferson  County,  lying  a  little 
back  from  the  River,  and  extending  several  miles  inland, 
is  underlaid  by  this  rock.  It  contains,  in  many  places, 
the  organic  remains  of  lower  forms  of  animal  and  vegeta- 
ble life,  that  sometimes  stand  out  in  fine  relief  upon  weath- 
ered surfaces  of  the  rock. 
15 


ill 


«:  (i; 


'•  i. 


lit 


iS8       OEOLOOY  0."  THOUSAND  ISLANDS. 

At  ElingstoD,  and  at  various  points  upon  both  shores, 
and  upon  Carleton,  Wolfe,  Howe,  Grindstone  and  other 
Islands,  the  Birds'-eye  and  Black  River  Limestones  occur 
in  nearly  horizontal  strata,  and  in  some  places  are  seen 
resting  directly  upon  the  gneiss,  which  comes  to  the  sur- 
face, here  and  there,  and  often  rises  to  a  greater  elevation 
than  the  adjacent  limestone.  It  would  appear  that  at 
these  places  an  island  existed  at  the  time  when  the  sand- 
stones, elsewhere  so  abundant,  were  being  deposited,  and 
that  the  limestones  were  formed  directly  over  the  gneiss. 
This  limestone  is  largely  used  for  building  purposes,  at 
Kingston  and  elsewhere,  and  it  makes  excellent  lime. 
From  the  lower  and  impure  strata  of  this  rock,  water-lime, 
or  hydraulic  cement,  was  formerly  made  in  Jefferson 
County.  These  limestones  at  various  places  contain  fossil 
corals,  sponges,  shells,  and  other  organic  remains  peculiar 
to  the  older  Silurian  period.  The  Black  River  Limestone, 
in  Watertown,  Brownville,  and  other  places,  has  extensive 
caves,  worn  by  currents  of  water  in  former  times.  These 
have  been  explored  to  considerable  distances,  and  appear 
to  have  been  formed  by  the  widening  of  natural  fissures 
in  the  rock.  Their  section  is  more  or  less  oval  in  form, 
sometimes  wider  than  high,  and  nearly  uniting  along  the 
line  of  the  fissure,  above  and  below. 

The  broken  region,  of  which  the  Thousand  Islands  are 
a  part,  affords  on  either  side  of  the  River,  in  various 
places,  a  number  of  picturesque  Lakes,  and  within  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty  miles,  in  Jefferson  County,  there  are  ex- 
tensive mines  of  red  hematite,   that  have  been  wrought 


(1)  George  Lansing  Taylor,  D.  D. 
Sentinel,  August  21,  1878. 


^QQWestern  ChrUtian 


OEOLOO T  OF  TllO Vi^AHI)  ISLAlsDS.       P.39 

for  more  than  fifty  years,  supplying  several  iron  furnaces 
in  their  vicinity,  and  a  large  amount  of  ore  for  exportation 
to  other  points.  Geologically,  these  iron  ores  occur  in 
thick  beds  along  the  junction  of  the  gneiss  and  the  older 
fossiliferous  formations,  and  they  seem  to  extend  downward 
to  an  unlimited  extent. 

In  speaking  of  the  Thousand  Islands  as  a  field  for  geo- 
logical study,  a  writer,  who  has  taken  great  interest  in  this 
subject,  says:^ 

"One  of  the  finest  River  Archipelagoes  on  the  globe,  is 
this  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Indeed,  it  is  almost  the  only 
one  that  has  such  a  vast  number  of  Islets,  all  of  rocky 
formation;  high,  healthy,  wooded,  without  muddy  or 
marshy  shores;  small  enough  for  inexhaustible  variety; 
deep,  navigable  channels  everywhere,  and  above  all,  the 
very  crown  and  glory  of  the  picturesque.        *  * 

The  location  is  one  of  the  very  best  for  geological  study. 
The  Laurentiau  system  is  reckoned  the  oldest  exposure,  or 
among  the  oldest,  on  the  globe.  The  granite  is  largely 
composed  of  feldspar,  and  so  differs  widely  from  the  fa- 
mous granites  of  New  England,  in  which  hornblende 
forms  so  large  an  element,  and  which  are  nearly  a  true 
syenite.  The  Potsdam  Sandstone  here  lies  directly  upon 
the  granite.  Both  show  wonderfully  the  erosion  of  waves 
by  which  the  great  inland  sea,  of  ancient  geological  ages, 
wore  down  this  partial  outlet  to  the  Sea.  Both  show,  also, 
the  grinding  and  planing  action  of  the  glacial  drift,  which 
here  wrought  with  enormous  power.  There  are  drift  striae 
or  grooves  here,  cut  into  this  hard  granite,  some  of  them 
showing  for  several  rods  in  length,  straight  as  a  line,  and 
as  wide  and  deep  as  half  a  hogshead  divided  lengthwise  of 
the  staves. 

"A  block  of  granite,  as  large  as  a  small  house,  held  fast 
in  the  under  surface  of  a  moving  sheet  of  ice,  as  a  glazier's 
diamond  in  its  steel  handle ;  another  sheet  of  ice,  hundreds 
of  feet  thick  and  thousands  of  miles  wide,  and  creeping 


:|i 


III 


£40        OEOLOQT  OF  THOUSAND  ISLANDS. 

onward  with  a  slow  but  irresistible  movement — what  a 
glass-cutter  that!  And  when  that  whole  sheet  of  ice  is 
thickly  studded  on  its  under  side  with  such  blocks,  great 
and  small,  we  can  get  a  conception  of  what  an  enormous 
rasp  the  hand  of  Omnipotence  wielded  in  planing  and 
and  polishing  all  the  upper  surfaces,  expecially  the  north- 
ern, western,  and  north-western  exposures  of  these  mighty 
rocks.  The  tooth-marks  of  this  rasp  a'*'*  the  glacial  strise 
of  geologists,  and  this  is  an  excellent  pi         to  study  them. 

"  For  half  a  mile,  fronting  on  Eel  Ba>,  there  is  an  almost 
continuous  frontage  of  the  glacier-planed  rocks.  At  its 
western  end,  this  rocky  ridge  breaks  down  abruptly  in 
lofty  precipices  called  the  'Palisades,'  with  a  deep,  naviga- 
ble strait  of  the  River,  called  the  'Narrows. '  Here  is  an 
admirable  place  to  study  the  cleavage  and  fracture  of  these 
rocks,  and  the  whole  is  one  of  the  finest  scenic  views  of 
the  Great  River." 

An  anonymous  writer,  in  a  book  of  Travels  "dedicated 

to  the  Wanderer  by  one  of  his  class, "^ — but  known  to  be 

John  F.  Campbell,  of  Islay,   had  his  attention  much  at 

tracted  by  geological  phenomena,  and    '•  noticing  glacial 

agencies,  remarks  as  follows  concernii        is  part  of  the  St. 

Lawrence : 

"At  the  foot  of  Lake  Ontario,  at  Brockville.  a  rock  of 
gray  quartz  in  the  town  is  so  finely  polished  that  lines  on  it 
were  invisible,  and  almost  imperceptible,  till  a  heel-ball  rub- 
bing brought  them  out.  Their  main  direction  is  N.  45° 
East  (magnetic),  and  large  polished  grooves,  in  which  sand 
lines  occur,  are  ten  feet  wide.  At  other  spots  on  the  same 
rock,  lines  point  north  and  have  other  bearings,  but  the 
whole  shape  of  the  country  bears  N.  E.  and  S.   W. 

"Beyond  Brockville,  the  Thousand  Islands  of  Lake  Onta- 
rio closely  resemble  groups  of  low  rocks  off  Gottenburgh. 
The  solid  rock  foundation  of  Canada,  up  to  the  level  of 
Lake  Ontario,  is  glaciated.  It  is  striated  in  various  di- 
rections, but  the  main  lines  observed  aimed  from  Belleisle 
towards  Niagara.     Upon  or  near  the  rock  are  beds  of  sand, 

(1)  A  Shmt  American  Tramp  in  (fie  Fall  of  1864.  By  the 
Editor  of  "  Life  in  Normandy."    Edinburgh,  1865. 


LAKE  REGIONS. 


m 


By  the 


shells,  ffravel,  and  clay,  with  large  and  well-scratched  bowl- 
ders of  foreign  origin.  Higher  than  these  beds  of  drift 
are  more  beds  of  sand,  sheils.gravel,  cla^  and  bowlders  as 
high  up  as  the  top  of  Montreal  Mountain,  and  the  top  of 
Niagara  Falls." 

In  noticing  these  phenomena  of  glacial  action,  it  may  be- 
remarked  that  the  whole  surface  of  the  country  North  and 
South,  and  to  a  great  distance  is  found  strewn  here  and 
there  with  bowlders,  some  of  them  of  immense  size,  and  in 
other  places  are  moraines  or  ridges  in  great  abundance. 
Drift-hills  composed  of  sand,  gravel  and  bowlders,  some- 
times cemented  by  clay  into  "hard-pan,"  are  a  common 

occurrence. 

Lake  Ridges.. 

We  may  in  this  connection  notice  the  "Lake  Ridges," 
so-called,  that  occur  on  both  sides  of  the  Lake,  and  at  vari*^ 
ous  elevations  above  its  present  level.  These  particularly 
engaged  the  attention  of  Prof.  Charles  Lyell,  the  English 
geologist,  who  in  his  journey  in  1842,  stopped  at  Toronto 
to  examine  them  as  they  occur  northward  from  that  City. 
The  first  of  the  ridges,  was  a  mile  inland — and  108  feet 
above  the  present  level  of  the  Lake.  It  arose  from  30  to 
40  feet  above  the  level  land  at  its  base,  and  could  be  traced 
by  the  eye  running  a  long  distance  east  and  west,  being 
marked  by  a  narrow  belt  of  fir-wood,  while  above  and  be- 
low, the  soil  was  clayey,  and  bore  other  kinds  of  timber. 

The  second  ridge  a  mile  and  a  half  further  inland  was 
208  feet  above  the  Lake  at  its  base,  as  determined  by  canal 
and  railroad  surveys,  and  arose  50  to  70  feet  high,  the 
ground  being  flat  both  above  and  below,  and  at  the  foot 
lay  a  great  number  of  bowlders,  which,  from  their  composi« 


v>    >\ 


If 


111 


2^ 


LAKE  REGIONS. 


tion,  showed  that  they  came  from  the  North.  Some  of 
these  bowlders  lay  on  tho  top  of  the  ridge,  but  there  were 
but  few  erratic  rocks  on  the  soil  between  these  ridges. 

Another  ride  of  two  miles  and  a  half,  in  a  northerly  di- 
rection, brought  him  to  a  third  ridge,  five  miles  from  the 
Lake — less  conspicuous  than  either  of  the  former,  being 
little  more  than  a  steep  slope  of  ten  feet,  by  which  the 
higher  terrace  was  reached,  only  80  feet  ubove  the  base  of 
the  second  ridge.  Thus  he  went  on,  passing  one  ridg^  af- 
ter another,  sometimes  deviating  several  miles  from  the 
direct  course,  to  fix  the  continuity  of  level,  and  observing 
their  general  character.  He  saw  no  less  than  eleven  of 
these  ridges  in  all,  some  of  which  might  be  called  cliffs,  or 
the  abrupt  terminations  of  terraces  of  clay,  which  cover 
the  Silurian  rocks  of  that  region  to  a  great  depth,  and  be- 
longing to  the  drift  or  bowlder  formation. 

The  highest  ridge  was  about  680  feet  above  the  Lake,  ' 
the  water-shed  between  Lakes  Ontario  and  Simcoe  being 
762  feet.  From  the  summit,  the  slope  toward  Lake  Sim- 
coe descends  282  feet,  and  along  down  this,  several  ridges 
■were  found,  showing  that  water  had  formerly  flowed  to  a 
higher  level  than  the  pres^uc. 

Mr.  L3'^ell  remarks  that  he  had  never  before  observed  so 
striking  an  example  of  banks,  terraces,  and  accumulations 
of  stratified  gravel,  sand  and  clay,  maintaining  over  wide 
areas  so  perfect  a  horizontality  as  in  this  district  north  of 
Toronto.  He  remarks  that  the  hypothesis  of  the  successive 
breaking  down  of  barri^^rs  of  an  ancient  lake  or  fresh- water 
ocean  has  now  been  gen^^rally  abandoned,  from  the  im* 


n 


LAKE  REGIONS. 


2Ji3 


possibility  of  conceiving  liere,  as  in  tlie  west  of  Scotland,as 
to  where  lands  capable  of  damming  up  the  waters  to  such 
height  could  have  been  situated,  or  how.  if  they  have  ex- 
isted, they  could  have  disappeared,  while  the  levels  of  the 
ancient  Iseaches  remained  undisturbed.  He,  therefore,  in- 
clines to  the  belief  that  they  were  the  margins  of  the  an- 
cient sea,  which  has  changed  level  from  the  upheavals  of 
the  Continent.  Tliis  must  have  been  intermittent;  so  that 
pauses  occurred.  durinjK  which  the  coast-line  remained 
stationary  for  centuries,  and  in  which  the  waves  would 
have  time  to  cut  cliffs,  or  throw  up  beaches,  or  throw  down 
littoral  deposits  and  sand-banks  near  the  shore. 

In  support  of  this  theory,  he  cites  the  example  of  Scan- 
dinavia, which  has  been  slowly,  yet  perceptibly  rising  from 
the  sea  within  the  historic  period,  at  the  rate  of  two  or 
three  feet  in  a  century.  We  know  too  little  of  the  laws  that 
govern  these  subterranean  movements,  to  deny  the  possi- 
bility of  such  intermittent  changes  in  the  level  of  the  sea. 

While  the  cliff  margins  might  have  been  the  abrupt 
shore  in  an  extremely  ancient  period,  the  bars  of  sand  on 
the  highest  levels  may  have  been  formed  on  the  inUnd 
margin  of  shallow  waters,  at  some  distance  from  deep 
waters,  as  "nay  be  seen  in  course  of  formation  in  some 
places  at  the  present  time. 

Depth  of  the  St.  Lawrence. — Tides  in  the  Lakes. 

Tlie  soundings  in  the  River,  among  the  Islands,  indicate 
a  great  irregularity  of  depth,  the  bottom  being  generally 
rocky,  and  quite  us  diversified  as  the  parts  that  rise  above 
the  surface.    The  greatest  depth  is  130  feet,  but  the  usual 


if 


llf 


^u 


DEPTH  OF  THE  RIVERS.— TIDES, 


I   I: 


N  i 


I  t 


.1  ;  t. 

I 


soundings  are  from  30  to  60  feet.  As  a  general  rule,  the 
navigation  among  the  Islands  is  entirely  safe  to  vessels  of 
the  size  usually  employed  upon  these  waters,  and  all  the 
dangerous  rocks  and  reefs  have  their  position  marked. 

The  level  of  the  River  differs  one  year  with  another,  the 
extreme  range  being  about  seven  feet.  These  changes  are 
not  the  immediate  effects  of  excessive  rains,  such  as  cause 
floods  in  other  rivers,  but  appear  to  be  occasioned  by  the 
different  quantities  of  rain  fallinfi^,  in  some  years  more 
than  in  others,  and  which  finds  its  way  down  months 
afterward.  A  series  of  several  years  of  high  water,  and 
others  of  low  water,  are  known  to  occur.  The  level  of 
the  River  is  also  affected  by  strong  prevailing  winds,  blow- 
ing up  or  down  the  lake,  and  several  instances  of  rapid 
fall,  followed  by  a  returning  wave  of  extraordinary  height, 
have  been  reported.  Some  have  supposed  these  sudden 
changes  of  level  to  be  caused  by  earthquake-tshocks,  but  a 
more  probable  theory  appears  to  be,  that  they  are  occa- 
sioned by  the  passage  of  a  water-spout,  or  a  tornado  at  a 
distant  point.  There  is  also  found  to  be  a  slight,  but  well- 
marked  tide  in  the  Lakes,  depending  upon  lunar  changes, 
like  those  upon  the  Ocean,  capable  of  the  same  prediction, 
and  governed  by  the  same  laws.  This  fact  has  been  proved 
by  long-continued,  self-recording  observations.  It  may 
often  be  disguised  by  oscillation  in  the  level  occasioned 
bytheTvinds.  It  was  observed  by  Charlevoix,  in  1721, 
that  the  level  of  the  Lake  changed  several  times  in  a  day, 
as  may  be  seen  anywhere  along  the  shore,  especially  upon 
a  gently-sloping  beach.  This  is  probably  due  chiefly  to 
the  action  of  the  winds. 


I 


the 


l*^' 


ys 


BOUNDARY  LINES. 

In  French  Colonial  times,  there  was  no  boundary  ac- 
knowledged by  both  Governments,  as  existing  between 
the  French  and  English  settlements.  Each  party  claimed 
far  beyond  the  point  allowed  by  the  other,  and  the  en- 
croachments of  the  former  upon  Lake  Champlain  and  in 
the  Wet.*,  are  well  known  to  have  led  to  the  war  that  ended 
in  1760,  in  the  establishment  of  English  authority  over  the 
whole. 

The  Province  o.'  Quebec  as  created  by  Royal  Proclama- 
tion, was  bounded  on  the  South,  from  the  Connecticut  to 
the  St.  Lawrence  Rivers,  by  the  line  of  45°  North  Latitude, 
and  South- Westward  by  a  line  running  from  the  point 
where  this  line  intersected  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  South 
end  of  Lake  Nipessing.  A  survey  of  the  line  of  45°  was 
begun  in  1772  by  John  Collins,  on  the  part  of  Quebec,  and 
Thomas  Vallentine  on  the  part  of  New  York ;  but  the  latter 
having  died,  Claude  Joseph  Sauthier  was  appointed  in  his 
place,  and  the  work  was  completed  October  30,  1774.^ 

In  the  treaty  of  1783,  the  line  of  the  River  and  Lakes 
was  adopted  as  the  boundary  westward  from  St.  Regis,  but 
no  surveys  of  this  part  were  undertaken  until  about  thirty- 

(1)  A  map  of  this  survey  by  Collins,  is  filed  in  the  Secre- 
retary  of  State's  office  at  Albany.  It  is  on  a  scale  of  two 
miles  to  an  inch  and  embraces  the  country  from  the  Connect- 
icut River  to  St.  Regis,  (Maps  No.  175,  Secretary's  office.) 


H 


\\  f  r  I 

i  i 

ll 


I 


iS46 


BOUNDARY  LINE. 


five  years  afterwards.  The  military  posts  on  the  American 
side  of  the  boundary  were  held  by  the  British  under  the 
pretext  of  protecting  the  claims  of  British  subjects  until 
definitely  relinquished  under  the  Jay  Treaty,  signed  No- 
vember 19,  1794,  under  which  it  was  agreed  that  they 
should  be  given  up  on  or  before  June  1,  1796.  In  the 
mean  time  the  discussion  as  to  boundaries  continued,  and 
Lieutenant-Governor  J.  G.  Simcoe,  of  Upper  Canada,  was 
particularly  rtrenuous  in  insisting  upon  an  aggressive  ad- 
vance of  the  Frontier,  that  should  secure  to  British  inter- 
sts  in  the  interior  the  magnificent  Empire  which  the 
French  had  endeavored  to  establish.  He  w  ould  have  had 
Niagara,  the  Seat  of  Government  of  this  English  America, 
and  had  his  first  concessions  been  allowed,  the  western 
boundary  of  the  United  States  would  have  been  the  Gene- 
see River,  and  a  line  extending  from  Its  head-w^aters  to  the 
sources  of  the  Ohio,  and  thence  southward,  along  the 
Alleghenies  to  the  Gulf  Coast. 

When  this  could  not  be  secured,  he  proposed  a  line  from 
Presque  Isle  [Erie,  Pa.,]  to  Pittsburgh; — then  the  Cuya- 
hoga, and  as  a  last  extremity  the  Miami  River.  Early  in 
1792,  in  a  long  letter  to  the  Home  Government,  he  pointed 
out  the  great  advantages  that  would  result  to  Canada  from 
the  adoption  of  a  line  that  should  run  from  Lake  Ontario 
across  the  country  to  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Champlain, 
including  the  disputed  boundaries  upon  that  Lake.  Until 
the  last  moment,  he  liad  clung  to  the  hope  of  attaching 
Vermont  to  Canada,  and  the  correspondence  of  that  period 
shows  that  an  expectation  of  this  result  had  been  encour- 


BOUNDARY  LINE. 


U7 


aged  by  the  turbuleut  leaders  in  that  State  as  an  alternative 

preferred  to  submission  to  the  authority  of  either  of  the 

claiming  States.    He  adds  : 

"I  should  think  Oswego,  and  I  question  whether  Niagara 
would  not  be  a  cheap  sacrifice  for  such  a  limit;  which  would 
be  strictly  defensive  on  our  part,  and  calculated  to  prevent 
future  disagreements.  I  have  heard  that  Oarleton  Island, 
the  most  important  post  on  Lake  Ontario,  is  on  the  British 
side  of  the  line,  as  the  better  channel  is  between  that  and 
the  northern  [?]  shore. "^ 

Again  in  writing  to  the  Tit.  Hon.  Henry  Dundas,  No- 
vember 4,  1792,  he  says  :  "I  beg  to  send  a  map  of  the 
River  Saint  Lawrence,  that  in  case  of  a  Treaty  being  en- 
tered into  with  the  United  States,  it  may  plainly  appear  of 
what  consequence  it  is  to  render  it  effectual  and  perma- 
nent, that  the  British  Boundary  should  enclose  the  Islands 
of  the  St.  Lawrence." 

Un-'er  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  which  ended  the  war  of 
1812-15,  Peter  B.  Porter,  was  appointed  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  and  Andrew  Barclay,  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain,  as  Commissioners  to  run  and  mark  the  Line.  The 
survey  was  begun  in  1817,  and  their  report  was  signed 
June  18th,  1822,  subject  to  ratification  by  their  respective 
Governments.  Their  operations  were  conducted  with  much 
precision,  and  the  details  were  reduced  to  maps  that  have 
never  been  published.  Copies  of  these  are  preserved  in  the 
offices  of  record  of  the  countries  concerned. 

While  the  Boundary  Survey  was  in  progress,  Col.  Samuel 


(1)  Simcoe  Papers,  MSS.  442.  Doubtless  the  v;ord  "north- 
ern" is  an  error  in  copying,   and  was  probably  written 

"southern." 


I 


\ 


248 


BOUNDARY  LINE. 


! 


Hawkins,  the  Agent  of  the  American  Commission,  gave  a 

f^te  champetre  upon  one  of  the  lower  islands,  to  which  the 

members  of  the  Commission  on  both  sides  were   invited. 

The  incident  is  described  by  Mr.  Darby,  who  says : 

"The  day  was  even  on  the  St.  Lawrence  uncommonly 
fine,  and  amid  the  groves  of  aspen,  wild-cherry,  and  lindpu 
trees,  the  scene  seemed  more  than  earthly.  Mrs.  Hawkins 
presided,  and  in  the  bowers  of  the  St.  Lawrence  recalled 
the  most  polished  manners  of  civilized  society  in  the 
crowded  City.  At  the  close  of  evening, Major  Joseph  Dela- 
fleld  and  myself  walked  over  the  Island,  and  in  full  view 
of  the  objects  which  excited  our  feelings,  concluded  that 
no  spot  on  the  globe  could  unite  in  so  small  a  space  more 
to  please,  to  amuse,  and  gratify  the  fancy." 

The  earlier  surveys  between  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Con» 
necticut  Rivers,  being  made  without  precision,  were  found 
in  1818  to  be  almost  everywhere  upon  a  line  too  far  north. 
At  St.  Regis,  the  departure  from  the  true  Latitude  of  45° 
was  found  to  be  1,375  feet;  at  the  French  Mills,  [Fort  Cov- 
ington,] it  was  154  feet;  at  Chateauguy  River,  975  feet, 
and  at  Rouse's  Point,  4,576  feet. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States,  had  begun  to  erect 
a  Fort  on  Lake  Champlain,  near  what  was  the  supposed 
boundary,  soon  after  the  war  of  1813-15,  and  this  wa« 
wholly  carried  over  into  Canada,  by  the  survey  of  1818. 
It  had  been  christened  "Fort  Montgomery,"  but  now  iii 
common  parlance  was  called  "Fort Blunder."  The  Amer- 
icans being  unable,  and  the  Canadians  unwilling  to  protect 
the  property,  it  became  the  prey  of  whoever  chose  to  plun- 
der it  of  materials,  as  needed  for  building  purposes.  Fin- 
ally, by  the  surveys  of  1842,  the  old  line  of  1774  was 
taken  by  compromise,  and  the  site  being  thus  restored  to 


BOUNDARY  LINE. 


249 


red  to 


the  possession  of  the  United  States,  work  was  resumed, 
and  carried,  we  believe,  to  completion,  under  the  original 
name. 

In  the  surveys  made  under  the  Webster-Ashburton 
Treaty  of  1842,  J.  B.  Bucknall  Estcourt,  Lieut-Col.,  was 
appointed  by  the  Government  of  Great  Britain,  and  Albert 
Smith,  by  that  of  the  United  States.  They  confirmed  the 
line  in  the  River,  as  it  had  been  located  under  the  Treaty 
of  Ghent,  and  the  old  line  marked  by  Vallentine  and  Col- 
lins between  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Lake  Champlain.  They 
were  able  to  follow  this  line  by  the  marks  on  the  trees, 
still  visible,  or  found  by  cutting  into  them;  but  where 
these  could  not  be  found,  or  where  clearings  had  been 
made,  straight  lines  were  run  between  these  old  land-marks, 
and  iron  monuments  were  set  at  every  angle  of  deflection, 
and  at  the  crossing  of  rivers,  lakes  and  roads.  The  bound- 
ary  line  is  therefore  not  on  the  true  parallel  of  45°  nor  in 
the  middle  of  the  channel,  but  it  is  a  conventional  line, 
agreed  upon  by  both  Governments,  and  accurately  defined 
by  monuments  and  records. 

The  larger  islands  in  the  St.  Lawrence  below  Ogdens- 
burgh,  had  long  been  settled  under  St.  Regis  Indian  titles, 
and  were  occupied  at  the  time  of  the  Survey  by  settlers 
who  up  to  that  time,  had  been  regarded  as  British  Subjects. 

Some  forty  years  afterwards,  the  persons  who  had  sus- 
tained losses  by  this  transfer,  applied  to  the  State  of  New 
York  for  compensation,  and  their  claims  became  the  sub- 
ject of  investigation,  and  of  Legislative  action  for  their 
relief. 


:i 


l\ 


HYDROGRAPHICAL    AND    TOPOGRAPHICAL 

SURVEYS. 

BRITISH  SURVEYS. 

The  first  surveys  of  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  were  made 
in  the  Summer  of  1789,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Niflf, 
an  Engineer.  They  only  embraced  the  south  sliore  of 
Lake  Ontario,  from  Carleton  Island  to  Niagara,  and  the 
south  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  from  its  eastern  end  to  Detroit. 

The  Engineer's  instructions  required  him,  in  addition  to 
the  soundings,  to  note  the  locations  proper  for  ship-build- 
ing, the  quality  of  land  for  settlement,  and  the  kind  of 
timber  along  the  shores.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
whole  of  this  region,  now  within  the  States,  was  then 
still  held  by  the  British  military  authorities,  and  it  may  be 
inferred  from  the  above  instructions  that  they  were  look- 
ing forward  to  a  time  when  it  should  be  permanently  under 
their  control. 

Soon  after  the  war  of  1812-15,  a  survey  of  the  eastern 
end  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  as 
far  down  as  the  Gallop  Rapids,  was  made  by  Capt.  W.  F. 
"W.  Owen,  of  the  Royal  Navy,  with  soundings,  a  definite 
delineation  of  the  shores  and  islands,  and  some  topograph- 
ical details  concerning  the  adjacent  parts.  This  survey 
was  completed  in  1818,  and  published  by  the  Hydrograph- 
ical  Office  of  the  Admiralty,  in  1828,  forming  a  series  of 


LAKE  AND  RIVER  SURVEYS. 


251 


five  charts.  These  were  *e-engrave(l,  with  corrections,  in 
1861,  and  are  found  in  the  collection  known  as  the  "  Bay- 
field Charts,"  which  in  all,  embrace  an  extensive  series  of 
Lake  Surveys. 

An  elaborate  survey  of  the  region  around  Kingston,  in- 
cluding the  adjacent  Islands,  upon  a  large  scale,  and  show- 
ing the  contour  of  surface  and  details  of  topography,  with 
special  reference  to  its  military  defences,  was  prepared  a 
few  years  since,  and  a  limited  edition  printed.  * 

UNITED  STATES  LAKE   SURVEYS. 

For  many  years,  the  survey  of  the  Northern  and  North- 
western Lakes  has  been  in  course  of  execution  by  the 
Corps  of  Engineers  of  the  War  Department.  These  trigo- 
metrical  and  hydrographical  surveys  were  begun  upon 
Lake  Ontario  and  the  River  St,  Lawrence  about  ten  years 
since,  and  during  the  years  1871  to  1875,  were  extended 

(1)  Traces  of  the  fort  erected  more  than  two  centuries 
ago,  were  stiil  existing  at  Kingston,  when  settlement  be- 
gan. A  fort  was  built  in  1789,  and  in  the  war  of  1812-15, 
other  defensive  works  were  added.  Fort  Henry,  upon  the 
height  east  of  the  City,  was  begun  in  1833,  and  occupied 
in  1836.  It  was  built  by  the  British  Government  at  a  cost 
of  £72,747,  and  faces  tmcarcl  the  land,  the  side  that  would 
appear  to  be  least  liable  to  attack.  In  1842,  Fort  Frederick 
was  built,  as  an  advanced  battery,  at  a  cost  of  £10,000. 
In  1848,  a  circular  tower  known  as  Catlicarts'  Redoubt,  was 
built  on  Cedar  Island,  at  a  cost  of  £9.430.  Murney's  Re- 
doubt, on  the  west  side  of  the  City,  and  a  tower  on  a  rock 
in  the  harbor,  in  front  of  the  City  Hall,  are  similar 
structures. 

A  Military  School  has  lately  been  established  bv  the  Do- 
minion Government  at  Kingston,  and  its  new  buildings  ap- 
pear to  fine  advantage  upon  the  military  grounds  on  the 
east  side  of  the  harbor. 


Il 


^62 


LAKE  AND  RIVER  SURVEYS. 


along  the  River  from  St.  Regis  to  the  Lake,  under  the 
direction  of  Brig. -Gen.  C.  B.  Comstock.  In  1876,  there- 
suits  were  published  in  six  charts,  which  represent  the  part 
of  the  River  from  St,  Regis  to  the  foot  of  Wolfe  Island, 
upon  a  scale  of  1  to  30,000  or  a  little  more  than  two  miles 
to  an  inch.  They  embrace  the  whole  of  the  River,  and 
the  topography  of  both  shores,  but  do  not  indicate  the 
boundary  line.  A  map  of  the  eastern  end  of  Lake  On- 
tario, being  No.  1  of  a  separate  series,  on  a  scale  of  1  to 
80,000,  or  about  four-fifths  of  an  inch  to  a  mile,  has  also 
been  published  under  the  same  direcrion.  These  charts 
all  have  a  great  number  of  soundings,  with  indications  of 
the  nature  of  the  bottom,  the  contour  and  cultivation  of 
the  land  on  the  Islands  and  adjacent  shores,  the  place  of 
buildings,  the  lines  of  roads,  and  of  streets  in  villages,  and 
the  character  and  extent  of  woodlands,  with  an  accuracy 
of  detail  that  proves  the  excellence  of  the  work. 


LIGHT-HOUSES. 

A  few  facts  concerning  the  Light- Houses  along  the  St. 
Lawrence,  may  not  be  without  interest : 

The  American  Light-Houses  are  under  the  care  of  a 
"Light-House  Board,"  in  the  Treasury  Department,  and 
the  coasts  and  rivers  of  the  country,  are  divided  into  15 
Districts.     Of  these,   the  10th  District  extends  from  St. 
Regis  to  Detroit,  with  the  head-quarters  of  the  Inspector 


LIGHT  HOUSES. 


253 


itol5 
St. 
)ector 


and  Engineer  at  Buffalo.  Within  this  District,  there  are 
67  Light-Houses,  and  about  150  buoys  (spars  and  cans), 
anchored  so  as  to  show  the  course  of  tlie  channel,  or  the 
position  of  dangerous  places.  These  spars,  etc.,  are  taken  up 
at  the  close  of  navigation,  and  replaced  after  the  ice  has  dis- 
appeared in  the  Spring.  By  their  color  and  numbers,  they 
give  information  that  all  navigators  must  understand. 
There  are  six  American  Lights  from  Ogdensburg  to  Tib- 
bett's  Point  inclusive.  They  have  all  fixed  white  lights, 
with  lens  apparatus  of  the  4th  or  6th  oraer.  Their  names 
and  position  are  as  follows: 

Ogdensburg,  on  a  rocky  islet,  190  yards  from  south  shore; 
built  in  1834;  refitted  in  1870;  a  square  tower,  42  feet  high, 
with  keeper's  dwelling. 

Oro88-(yDer  Island,  20  miles  above  Ogdensburgh ;  a  tower 
;;87fc  '.  high,  on  keeper's  brick  dwelling;  lantern  black; 
built  in  1837;  refitted  in  1870. 

Sister  Islands,  6^  miles  further  up;  a  tower  on  keeper's 
stone  dwelling;  lantern  black,  with  red  dome;  built  in 
.1870;  height  43  feet. 

Sunken  Rock,  6  miles  further  up,  on  Bush  Island,  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  Alexandria  Bay ;  an  octagonal 
brick  tower,  sheathed  with  boards ;  white ;  height  31  feet ; 
built  in  1847;  refitted  in  1855. 

Bock  Island,  7  miles  further  up;  keeper's  dwelling  of 
brick,  white,  with  a  low  tower  on  top,  dome  black;  height 
39  feet;  built  in  1847;  refitted  in  1855. 

Tibbetfs  Point,  23  miles  above,  at  the  outlet  of  the  Lake; 
a  stone  building  connected  by  covered  way  with  a  round 


;  ■ 

J 


t 


$54 


LIOHT-H0U8E8. 


brick  tower  67  feet  high,  white;  built  in  1827;  refitted  in 
1864. 

The  oldest  Light-House  on  the  Lake,  is  that  near  Fort 
Niagara,  built  in  1813;  the  next  oldest,  is  the  one  onGalloo 
Island,  built  in  1820.  All  the  lights  on  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  Great  Lakes  are  discontinued  from  January  Ist 
until  the  opening  of  navigation,  unless  otherwise  specially 
directed. 

The  Dominion  Light-House  System  is  under  the 
charge  of  the  Ministry  of  Marine  and  Fisheries,  and  at  the 
beginning  of  1880  embraced  482  lights,  of  which  Labrador 
had  4 ;  Newfoundland  3 ;  Gulf  and  River  of  St.  Lawrence 
140  to  Montreal — 19  from  thence  to  Windmill  Point  near 
Prescott,  and  10  from  thence  to  the  Lake;  Saguenay  River 
6;  Richlieu  River  5;  Lake  Memphramagog  0;  Ottawa 
River  16;  Lake  Ontario  29;  Lake  Simcoe  1;  Lake  Erie  15; 
Detroit  River  2 ;  Lake  St.  Clair  1 ;  Lake  Huron  32 ;  Lake 
Superior  9 ;  Prince  Edwards  Island  29 ;  Cape  Breton  Island 
23;  Nova  Scotia  (Atlantic  Coast)  63;  Bay  of  Fundy  48;  St. 
John's  River  13;  Lake  Winnipeg  1,  and  British  Colum- 
bia 7. 

The  lights  from  Prescott  to  Lake  Ontario  are  as  follows : 

Cole  Shoal,  on  a  pier  5  miles  west  of  Brockville. 

Grenadier  Island,  (8.  W.  Point,)  2  miles  below  Rock- 
port. 

Lindoe  Island,  5  miles  west  of  Rockport. 

Oananoque  Narroics,  5  miles  below  Gananoque,  on  Little 
Stave  Island. 

Jack  Straw  Shoal,  on  a  pier,  north  side  of  channel,  3 
miles  below  Gananoque. 


STEAM  NA  VIGA  TION. 


Sbb 


bted  in 

r  Fort 
Galloo 
wrence 
ary  Ist 
)ecially 

ier  the 
i  at  the 
ibrador 
iwrence 
nt  near 
y  River 
Ottawa 
Erie  15 ; 
l\  Lake 
1  Island 

48;  St. 

Colum- 

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V  Rock- 


»n  Little 
mnel,  3 


Spectacle  Shoal,  on  a  pier,  north  side,  1^  miles  west  of 
Gananoqiie. 

Hed  Horse  Bock,  on  a  pier,  S.  E.  side  of  channel,  one 
mile  above  Spectacle  Shoals, 

Burnt  Island,  at  S.  E.  point  of  Island,  north  side  of 
channel,  ^  mile  from  Red  Horse  Rock. 

Wolfe  Island,  on  Quebec,  or  East  Point  of  Island — and 
Broinis  or  Knapp's  Point,  on  "Wolfe  Island. 

These  are  all  fixed  single  lights,  with  metallic  reflectors, 
on  white  square  wooden  towers,  and  were  all  built  in  1856, 
except  Wolfe  Island  Light  in  1861,  and  that  on  Brown's 
Point  in  1874. 


STEAM  NAVIGATION  UPON  LAKE  ONTARIO  AND 
THE  ST.  LAWRENCE. 

The  first  Steamboat  that  appeared  upon  this  Lake  was 
the  Oneida,  in  1817.  The  boat  was  110  feet  long,  24  wide, 
and  8  deep,  and  measured  237  tons,  and  had  a  low-pressure 
cross-head  engine,  and  a  34-inch  cylinder  with  4-feet  stroke. 
She  had  two  masts,  and  used  sails  when  the  wind  favored. 
It  was  indeed  a  new  era  in  navigation,  and  from  this  time 
Durham  boats,  bateaux,  and  all  the  pleasant  associations 
which  boat  songs  recall  were  doomed  to  disappear.  The 
new  steamboat  was  indeed  a  wonder  in  this  part  of  the 
world,  and  at  every  landing  crowds  assembled  from  far 
and  wide,  to  catch  a  view  of  the  first  wreath  of  smoke 
from  her  stack,  and  to  watch  and  wonder  as  she  slowly 


t 


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JfS         ■■« 


m  "J< 


S56 


STEAM  NAVIGATION. 


I 


Mi 


and  majestically  came  up,  and  as  she  independently'  de- 
parted on  her  appointed  course.  Every  village  that  could 
muster  a  cannon,  and  every  steeple  that  had  a  bell,  an- 
nounced the  event,  and  joined  in  the  welcome.  Bonfires 
and  illuminations,  the  congratulations  of  friends  and  in- 
terchange of  hospitalities,  signalized  the  event  along  the 
whole  of  the  route,  and  the  occasion  was  noted  down  as 
one  to  be  long  remembered.  The  round  trip  from  Ogdens- 
burgh  to  Lewiston  required  ten  days.  Fare,  $16  in  the 
cabin,  and  $8  on  deck.  Master,  Captain  Mallaby.  The 
Oneida  ran  till  1832,  seldom  making  more  than  five  miles 
an  hour.  The  Frontenac  came  out  from  Kingston  not  long 
after.  From  this  time  down,  the  number  has  been  legion ; 
but  since  the  completion  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  the 
importance  of  steam  navigation  has  greatly  declined,  and 
several  tine  steamers  were  taken  down  the  Rapids  never 
to  return.^ 

But  whatever  the  future  may  determine,  as  regards  the 
lines  of  business  travel,  the  St.  Lawrence  will  always,  in  its 
Islands  and  its  Rapids,  present  an  attractive  route  for  tour- 

(1)  A  large  amount  of  information  concerning  steam- 
boats upon  the  Lake  will  be  found  in  the  History  of  St. 
Laiorence  and  Franklin  Counties,  (1853),  and  the  Hiatoi'y 
of  Jefferson  County,  (1854.) 

For  many  years  Clayton  was  a  noted  place  for  steamboat 
building.  Some  of  the  finest  steamers  that  ever  appeared 
on  these  waters,  came  from  the  shipyard  of  Mr.  John 
Oades  of  that  place.  Of  these  the  New  York  and  the  Bay 
State, — truly  magnificent  in  their  appointments,  were  after- 
wards employed  on  ocean  service.  Other  Lake  steamers 
were  used  during  our  late  war  as  blockade  runners  on  the 
Southern  coast. 


«■  MIVV.^.1'  n  ^fV'^ 


intlj'  de- 
lat  could 
bell,  an- 
Bonfires 
I  and  in- 
long  the 
down  as 
I  Ogdens- 
il6  in  the 
by.     The 
five  miles 
ti  not  long 
en  legion; 
ilway,  the 
ined,  and 
►ids  never 

gards  the 
rays,  in  its 
for  tour- 

ng  steam- 
ory  of  St. 
lie  History 

steamboat 
appeared 
Mr.  John 
d  the  Bay 
vere  after- 
steamers 
ers  on  the 


8TEAM  NA  VIOATION.— LUMBERING.       257 

ists  in  the  Summer  season.  We  may  never  again  witness  a 
fleet  of  Steamers  as  magnificent  as  those  of  the  "Ontario 
and  St.  Laicrence  Steamboat  Co.,"  which  in  its  best  days 
had  eleven  such  in  daily  'ise, — while  the  Canadians  at  the 
same  time  had  numerous  elegant  Steamers  fully  employed ; 
but  under  the  law  universally  true  in  business. that  the  sup- 
ply will  be  regulated  by  the  demand,  we  may  confidently  look 
for  abundant  comfort  and  elegance  in  these  Steamers  upon 
the  St.  Lawrence.  The  history  of  steam  navigation  scarce- 
ly presents  a  more  remarkable  freedom  from  accidents  than 
does  that  upon  this  Lake  and  River — a  circumstance  due 
as  well  to  the  intelligence  of  those  entrusted  with  their  nav- 
igation, as  to  the  sagpcii.y  of  owners,  who  saw  their  true 
interest  to  consist  in  the  certainty  of  their  engagements, 
rather  than  in  a  reputation  for  extraordinary  achievements 
in  amount  of  business,  or  high  rate  of  speed. 

Life-Saving  Stations,  were  first  established  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  upon  Lake  Ontario,  in 
the  Summer  of  1854,  consisting  originally  of  Francis's  Me- 
tallic Life-Boats,  with  fixtures,  but  without  buildings  to  shel- 
ter, or  crev^s  to  manage  them.  The  system  has  since  been 
perfected  ;is  the  wants  of  the  service  required. 


LUMBERING  UPON  THE  RIVER  ST.  LAWRENCE. 

In  several  of  the  descriptions  given  in  the  preceding 
pages,  allusion  is  made  to  woodland  scenes  and  woodmen's 
labors.  One  of  the  earliest  and  mcst  extensive  operators 
in  this  line  was  William  Wells,  eldest  son  of  Thos.  Wells, 


■i! 


1 ; 


$68  LUMBERING. 

from  Saudown,  N.  H.,  who  came  to  Canada  in  1787,  and 
began  lumbering  operations  about  1790,  on  the  Island  to 
which  his  name  is  now  often  applied.  He  would  establish 
a  shanty  at  a  convenient  point,  and  with  the  aid  of  hired 
men,  work  up  into  staves  all  the  timber  suitable  to  this  use 
within  convenient  reach,  and  when  this  was  exhausted  he 
would  remove  to  another  place.  He  thus  went  over  the 
whole  of  this  Island,  and  other  Islands  in  the  River,  until 
the  business  became  no  longer  profitable.  His  market  was 
England,  by  way  of  Quebec,  to  which  place  his  stock  was 
sent  upon  rafts.  At  a  later  period,  Carleton  Island  for  a 
short  time  became  an  important  lumber  station,  and  later 
still,  Clayton,  where  for  many  years  immense  quantities  of 
timber,  brought  down  from  the  Upper  Lakes  in  vessels, 
were  made  up  into  rafts  in  French  Creek,  and  sent  down 
to  Quebec.  It  was  there  again  loaded  into  vessels,  for 
the  European  markets.  It  recent  years,  the  foot  of  Wolfe 
Island,  and  Garden  Island,  opposite  to  Kingston,  have 
been  the  principal  lumbering  stations  on  the  River.  The 
business  has  for  a  long  time  depended  upon  supplies 
brought  down  from  distant  points  in  the  West,  and  is  now 
greatly  reduced  from  the  exhaustion  of  supplies. 

(1)  Mr.  Wells  was  born  June  30,  1768,  and  for  two 
years  after  his  coming  to  Canada,  he  worked  in  the  service 
of  David  Jones,  of  Brockville.  He  continued  his  lumber- 
ing operations  (except  as  interrupted  by  the  war)  until  the 
timber  suitable  for  i^iarket  along  the  River  was  exhausted, 
and  then  established  himself  upon  the  Bonnechere,  a  trib- 
utary of  the  Ottawa,  until  1833.  He  then  limited  himself 
to  agriculture  until  his  death,  which  occurred  October  10, 

lo . 


fi-mririiii 


ADDITIONAL  FACTS  CONCERNING  CARLETON 

ISLAND. 

The  romantic  interest  pertaining  to  the  silent  ruins  of  the 
Fort  upon  this  Island,  justifies  the  addition  of  some  further 
facts  concerning  its  evacuation  as  a  naval  station,  the  with- 
drawal of  its  garrison,  removal  of  its  stores  and  final  trans- 
fer of  its  cannon  to  another  Fort  on  the  northern  shore  of 
Lake  Ontario, 

On  the  29th  of  May,  1788,  Capt.  Mann,  Commanding 
Engineer,  was  ordered  to  examine  both  Carleton  Island  and 
Kingston,  and  report  as  to  "  which  was  most  eligible  as  a 
station  for  the  King's  ships  and  the  protection  of  lake 
navigation,  and  what  works  were  necessary  for  that  pur- 
pose. "  He  reported  in  favor  of  the  latter,  and  from  this 
date,  the  place  is  mentioned  as  one  that  "used  to  be 
of  note." 

On  the  13th  of  October,  1789.  there  were  found  eighteen 
gun-carriages,  all  but  one  un-repairable,  of  which  two  were 
for  eighteen  pounders,  three  for  twelves,  three  for  nines, 
six  for  sixes,  and  four  for  fours.  They  would  probably 
in  this  climate  become  in  this  condition  in  ten  or  twelve 
years  On  the  next  day  his  Majesty's  Scow  Seneca  was 
ordered  "  to  be  sent  around  to  Carleton  Island  from  the 
Ordnance  and  Stores  at  that  place." 

There  can  bo  no  doubt  but  that  the  stores  were  removed 


I 


geo 


MORE  ABOUT  CARLETON  ISLAND. 


in  October,  1789,  but  for  some  reason  the  cannon  were  not 
then  removed. 

In  an  official  report  of  the  condition  of  the  public  works 
at  Kingston  dated  May  15,  1791,  an  Indian  store-house  is 
mentioned  "which  formerly  served  as  a  hospital  on  Carle- 
ton  Island,  which  had  been  removed,  and  had  served  the 
same  purpose  till  within  the  last  three  years." 

On  the  10th  of  June,  1793,  nineteen  guns,  of  which  ten 
were  eighteens,  five  twelves,  two  nines,  and  two  sixes  were 
minutely  described  as  still  on  the  works.  As  the  iron 
work  of  the  rotten  carriages  was  being  stolen,  Capt.  Por- 
ter ordered  them  to  be  burned,  and  the  irons  stored,  and 
finally,  in  August  of  that  year,  the  Missesmgua  was  sent  by 
Capt.  Geo.  Glasgow,  of  the  Royal  Artillery,  to  remove 
these  guns,  and  some  others  from  Kingston  to  Toronto. 

Extract  of  a  Letter  from  Lieut. -Gov.  J.  G.  8imcoe,  of  Up- 
per Canada,  to  Lieut. -Gov.  Alured  Clarke,  of  Lower  Canada.  ^ 

Navy  Hall,  June  17th,  1793. 
"  I  enclose  a  return  of  the  Cannon  at  Carleton  Island. 
Those  18-pounder8  reported  to  be  sunk,  are  nowhere  to  be 
found.  The  guns  are  all  marked  as  unservicable,  and  the 
carriages  are  so  rotten,  that,  agreeable  to  the  Ordinance  In- 
structions, as  people  are  stealing  the  iron,  Capt.  Porter  has 
ordered  them  to  be  burnt,  and  the  iron  conveyed  into  the 
store ;  but  as  Capt.  Glasgow  is  of  opinion  that  many  of 
these  heavy  cannon  may  be  so  mounted  at  Toronto,  as  to 
be  useful  in  that  post,  and  as  I  wish  to  avail  myself  of  the 
experience  of  this  valuable  officer,  whilst  I  have  the  good 
fortune  to  possess  him  in  this  Province,  I  must  request 
that  yoi  ;  Excellency  will  permit  me  to  transfer  so  many  of 
them  as  tJall  be  expedient  to  that  place." 


(1)  Simcoe  Papers,  n,  136. 


vyrttimnfrraaMMaa 


MORE  ABOUT  CARLETON  ISLAND. 


Gen.  Alured  Clarke  to  Lieut.  Ooverncyr  Simcoe.^ 


261 


Quebec,  July  8,  1793. 

The  report  you  enclosed  of  the  guns  at  Carleton  Island, 
has  been  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  Lieut.  Colonel 
Walker,  commanding  the  Royal  Artillery,  who  declines 
recommending  the  putting  in  use  ordnance  which  has  been 
80  long  looked  upon  as  unserviceable,  lest  some  accident 
might  be  the  result  of  their  being  employed.  However,  if 
you  are  upon  further  consideration  of  this  matter  still  de- 
sirous for  having  some  of  them  removed  for  the  purpose 
you  mention,  I  do  acquiesce  in  your  ordering  it  to  be  done. 

I  must  here  take  notice  that  though  I  am  persuaded 
Capt.  Porter's  motives  were  good,  for  ordering  the  rotten 
gun-carriages  to  be  destroyed,  and  the  iron  brought  into 
store,  yet  this  step  was  rather  premature,  as  it  would  have 
been  more  regular  and  conformable  to  the  Board  of  Ord- 
nance, to  have  applied  for  a  survey,  and  their  destruction 
delayed  till  orders  were  sent  him  for  that  purpose. 

Lieut,  Governor  Simcoe  to  General  Clarke.^ 

Navy  Hall,  July  24,  1793. 

I  shall  immediately  proceed  to  Toronto,  (York),  whither 
I  hope  the  whole  of  the  Queen's  Rangers  will  be  encamped 
in  a  few  days,  when  I  shall  do  myself  the  honor  of  making 
a  more  specific  report  on  the  subject  of  fortifying  that 
harbor.  Its  extent,  and  the  difficulty  that  any  enemy  must 
have  of  bringing  heavy  cannon  or  howitzers  into  the  Prov- 
ince, necessarily  points  out  the  advantages  that  must  result 
from  a  few  guns  of  the  largest  calibre.  The  caronades 
meant  for  the  shipping,  I  have  always  purposed  to  make 
use  of,  and  my  intention  has  been  to  select  some  of  the 
best  guns  from  Carleton  Island  that  at  the  least  expense  we 
make  the  most  formidable  resistance. " 

Lieutenant- Governor  Simcoe  to  General  Clarke.^ 

York,  August  2,  1793. 

"I  apprehend  Captain  Porter  must  have  executed  some 
former  order,  as.  it  is  merely  from  the  Artillery  through 


f 


fi 


(1)  Simcoe  Paper,  ii,  158. 
(8)  Simcoe  Papers,  ii,  201. 


(2)  Simcoe  Papers,  ii,  149. 


262 


MORE  ABOUT  CARLETON  ISLAND. 


Captiiin  Glasgow,  that  I  have  as  yet  received  auy  accounts 
of  his  lirtving  destroyed  the  carriages  at  Carleton  Island, 
and  which  has  been  rather  unseasonable  to  my  view." 

Letter  from  Captain  George  Glaagow. 

York,  August  6,  1793. 

Sir — His  Excellency  Colonel  Simcoe,  having  directed 
the  Missessagua  to  proceed  'rom  hence  to  Kiugston  and 
Carleton  Island,  in  order  to  return  here  with  the  utmost 
expedition  after  receiving  on  board  the  cannon,  carronades, 
carriages,  etc.,  together  with  a  non-commissioned  officer 
and  eight  gunners,  concerning  which  Captain  Glasgow, 
commanding  the  Royal  Artillery,  has  given  the  necessary 
orders  to  the  corporal  in  charge  of  stores  or  that  corps  at 
that  port,  I  am  to  desire  that  this  arrangement  may  take 
place  as  soon  as  possible,  for  wiiich  purpose  I  enclose  to 
you  a  copy  of  the  memorandum  of  guns  and  carronades, 
wiiich  Captain  Glasgow  with  His  Excellency's  approba- 
tion, has  ordered  to  be  transported  to  York. 

Memorandum  of  guns,  etc. : 

18  pr.  carronades,    6  at  Kingston. 
12  ''  "  10  at 

Swivels  2,  for  the  new  gun  boat.  ,  < 

Unservicable  18  pr  guns,  6  Carleton  Island.    '       . 
13      "  6 

N.  B. — The  carronade  carriages  with  the  18  and  12  pd. 
shot  at  Kingston,  to  be  sent  at  the  same  time,  and  likewise 
the  party  must  bring  with  them  three  tents,  a  camp  kettle 
and  a  month's  provisions.  George  Glasgow, 

Captain  commanding  the  Royal  Artillery. 

Toronto,  (now  York)  6th  August,  1793. 

E.  B.  LiTTLEHALES. 

Dr.  Canniff's  Aecounts  of  Carleton  Island. 

This  author^  mentions  this  Island  as  a  military  and 
naval  station  in  the  American  Rebellion,  at  which  Govern- 

(1)  Hutw'y  of  the  Settlement  of  Upper  Canada,  with 
Special  Reference  to  the  Bay  of  Quinte.  By  Wm.  Canniff^ 
M.  D.     Toronto,  1869.     pp.  402. 


ints 
ind, 


cted 
and 
nost 
-des, 
Beer 
?ow, 
sary 
)s  at 
take 
36  to 
ides, 
oba- 


pd. 
wise 
,ettle 


and 
'^ern- 

with 
niff. 


MORE  ABOUT  CARLETON  ISLAND. 


263 


ment  vessels  were  built  for  navigating  the  Lake,  and  aa 

possessing  fortifications, 

"  Tiiis  Military  Post  afforded  a  retreat  for  the  refui^ees 
who  fled  from  the  Mohawk  Valley.  Says  the  liev.  Wm. 
Macauley:  'Jay's  Treaty  of  Peace,  as  it  was  called,  in 
1783,1  found  Carleton  Island  occupied  by  the  84th  Regi- 
ment, a  body  of  Highlanders  levied  in  the  Carolinas,  and 
subsequently  adopted  into  the  line.  Upon  the  erection  of 
the  northern  line  of  the  United  States,  Oarleton  Island 
came  within  the  boundary  of  the  State  of  New  York;  but 
it  continued,  in  common  with  other  military  posts,  in  pos- 
session of  the  British,  until  1796.'  Indeed,  according  to 
the  gentleman  whose  words  we  have  quoted  above,  it  re- 
mained in  possession  of  the  British  until  1812,  when  the 
Americans  crossed  and  seized  a  Sergeant's  guard  there. 
It  would  seem  that  parties  entering  Canada  were  required 
to  procure  a  passport  here.  A  copy  of  one  extracted  from 
the  History  of  Dundas,  is  as  follows,  directed  to  whom 
concerned : 

"  '  Permit  the  boat  going  from  this  to  pass  to  Kingston, 
with  their  provisions,  family  clothing,  bedding,  household 
furniture,  and  farming  utensils,  the^'^  having  cleared  out  of 
this  port,  as  appears  by  their  names  in  the  margin.  (John 
Loucks,  two  men,  two  women,  three  children.) 

[Signed],  C.  McDonnell,  P.  O. 

"Among  the  refugees  here  during  the  war,  was  Mr. 
Macauley.  In  1776  [1786?],  Sergeant-Major  [James]  Clark 
of  the  8th,  or  King's  Own  Regiment,  was  appointed  Clerk 
and  Naval  Storekeeper  at  Carleton  Island,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1790.  This  was  the  father  of  the  late  Col. 
Clark,  of  Dalhousie." 

Again,   in  speaking  of  the    early  history  of  Kingston, 

Dr.  Canniff  says:^ 

"The  Rebellion  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  Military 
Post  at  the  Island  of  Chevreaux,   or  Goat  Island,  subse- 

(1)  An  error,  the  treaty  mentioned  having  been  signed 
in  1794.  Perhaps  the  Treaty  of  Peace  signed  in  1783  was 
intended. 

(2)  Page  420. 


iil> 


■f  ii 


264 


MORE  ABOUT  CARLETON  ISLAND. 


_.l£. 


qiiently  named  Carleton  Island.  This  position  was  found 
more  convenient  than  the  site  of  Fort  Frontenae.  After 
the  defeat  of  Gen.  Burgoyne,  at  Saratoga,  in  1777,  there 
were  many  refugees  who  sought  protection  at  the  several 
military  posts  along  the  northern  frontier  of  New  York, 
that  of  Carleton  Island  among  the  rest.  Indeed,  it  is 
probable  that  to  this  place  a  large  number  escaped,  as  be- 
mg  more  safe  than  Oswego  or  Niagara.  A  communication 
was  with  some  regularity  kept  up  between  this  place  and 
Montreal,  and  also  the  Fort  at  Niagara.  By  the  army 
boats,  refugees  may  have  passed  ta  Montreal ;  but  it  would 
seem  that  a  considerable  number  remained  domiciled  at 
Carleton  Island,  eating  the  food  supplied  by  Government. 
Of  course,  able-bodied  men  would  be  at  once  enrolled  into 
the  companies  to  do  military  service;  yet  there  would  re- 
main a  certain  number  of  males,  besides  the  women,  who 
were  incapacitated  for  military  life.  During  the  continua- 
tion of  the  war,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  indi- 
viduals, perhaps  families,  would  cross  to  the  old  fort  at 
Cataraqui,  to  stay  for  a  while,  or  even  take  up  their  abode. 

"It  may  have  been,  that  their  advantages  in  cultivating 
the  clearecl  land,  which  did  not  exist  at  Carleton  Island. 

Again  in  speaking  of  this  Island  (p.  148),  he  says: 

"During  the  Revolutionary  war,  the  British  built  at 
Carleton  Island,  a  few  vessels  to  convey  troops  and  pro- 
visions from  that  place  along  the  Lake,  from  Carleton  Is- 
land to  Niagara.  The  tirst  Commissioner  of  the  Dock-yard 
was  Commodore  James  Andrews,  Lieutenant  in  the  Royal 
Navy.  The  Ontario,  a  war  vessel  of  considerable  impor- 
tance, carrying  22  guns,  was  built  at  Carleton  Island.  This 
vessel  was  commanded  by  Capt.  Andrews.  Sometime  be- 
tween 1780  and  1783,  as  the  Ontario  was  proceeding  from 
Niagara  to  Oswego,  with  a  detachment  of  the  King's  Own 
Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  Burton,  with  other  offi- 
cers, a  storm  arose  at  night,  and  the  vessel  was  lost  with 
all  on  board." 

The  reader  will  find  in  the  accounts  of  J.  Long,  the  In- 
dian Trader — of  P.  CampbeU,  and  of  La  Rochefoucauld- 
lAancourt,  in  the  foregoing  pages,  some  allusion  to  Carle- 
ton Island.     In  Spafford's  Gazetteer  of  New  York,  (2d  Ed. 


mKu^wivwcnKX  T-rt-MWO  juajpytrw  h 


MORE  ABOUT  CARLETON  ISLAND. 


265 


1824),  there  is  a  traditional  account  corresponding  witli 
that  which  we  have  given,  and  in  Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the 
War  of  1812,  is  a  description  of  various  relics,  coins,  etc., 
found  there.  When  surveyed  by  Mr.  Hassler,  (first  Super- 
intendent of  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey),  in  1823,  there  was 
a  tract  of  thirty  acres  known  as  the  "  King's  Garden." 

Kingston  was  described  by  Surveyor-General  Smyth  in 
his  Topographical  Description  of  Canada  (1799),  as  having 
a  barrack  for  troops,  a  house  for  the  commanding  officer, 
a  hospital,  several  store-houses  and  an  Episcopal  Chur'"h. 
The  ruins  of  the  French  works  were  still  seen,  as  well  as 
that  of  a  breast-work  thrown  up  by  General  Bradstreet,  on 
the  east  side  of  the  town.  In  its  excellent  harbor  the 
King's  shipping  on  Lake  Ontario  for  the  most  part  win- 
tered, and  here  the  goods  and  provisions  brought  up  in 
bateaux  from  Montreal  and  designed  for  places  further 
west  were  transferred  to  vessels,  as  they  had  formerly  been 
at  Carleton  Island. 

Carleton  Island  again  became  an  object    of   correspon- 
dence, and  a  place  of  some  prospective  importance,  under 
■  the  Embargo  Act  of  Congress  passed  December  22,  1807,  as 
will  appear  from  the  following  correspondence: 

Letter  from  Augustus  Sacket,  Collector  at  Sackets  Harbor, 

to  Mr.  CarticrigfU,  August  19,  1808. 

Hon.  Richard  Cartwright  : 

Respected  Sir — By  the  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War  of 
the  United  States,  a  small  body  of  troops  have  been  order- 
ed into  this  District,  to  be  stationed  at  such  place  as  the 
Commanding  Officer  and  Collector  of  the  Post  may  direct. 
Acting  under  the  latter  capacity,  and  being  informed  that 
there  was  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  British  Govern- 


\ 


S66 


MORE  ABOUT  CARLETON  ISLAND. 


ment  to  retain  Curleton  Island  on  the  River  St.  Lawrence, 
we  liave  deemed  Carleton  Island  the  most  proper  place  to 
be  the  station  for  the  United  States  troops,  and  should  be 
happy  to  have  the  same  given  up.  If  you  will  be  so  oblig- 
ing as  to  have  this  requet^t  laid  before  the  proper  authority 
I  will  esteem  it  a  particular  favor. 

I  am  sincerely  your  obedient  servant, 

Augustus  Sacket. 

The  above  letter  was  handed  to  Capt.  H.  Mackenzie,  of 

the  41st  Regiment,  Commanding  at  Kingston,  who  wrote 

to  the  Military  Secretary  at  Quebec  on  the  22d  of  August, 

as  follows : 

"  I  mean  to  visit  Carleton  Island  to-morrow,  and  shall 
use  every  means  in  my  power  to  persuade  and  prevent 
these  troops  from  making  any  rendezvous  on  that  Island. 
His  Excellency  may  rely  on  my  discretion  until  I  receive 
his  commands  on  that  head." 

Again  in  writing  Aug.  24,  1808,  he  says: 

"  Since  my  last  I  have  visited  Carleton  Island,  where  I 
was  informed  that  many  of  the  inhabitants  on  the  Ameri- 
can shore  had  an  idea  that  two  armed  boats  were  to  rendez- 
vous at  that  Island  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  their  peo- 
ple carrying  off  the  produce  of  the  United  States,  such  as 
potash,  etc.  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  leaving  Lieut. 
Chambers,  one  sergeant  and  four  privates  there,  to  rein- 
fore  that  post  which  formerly  consisted  of  one  corporal 
and  three  privates  of  the  41st  Regiment,  which  I  hope  may 
meet  with  the  approbation  of  his  Excellency,  Sir  James 
Craig." 

lAeui.  Cross,  U.  S.  Artillery,  to  Major  McKenzie,  41st  RegH. 

Encampment,  Sackets  Harbor,  August  22,  1808. 
Sir :  I  have  the  honor  to  state,  that  I  am  under  orders 
to  take  post  with  my  detachment  at  such  point  on  this 
frontier  as  shall  enable  me  best  to  support  the  duties  and 
laws  pertaining  to  the  oflftce  of  Collector  of  the  Revenue  in 
this  District.  On  consulting  with  Augustus  Sacket,  Esq., 
the  present  Collector,  and  carefully  perusing  a  map  of  this 
country,  no  place  appears  so  eligible  as  Carleton  Island  for 
the  purport  of  my  orders.     It  has  been  stated  to  me  that 


MOBE  ABOUT  CABLETON  ISLAND. 


2G7 


Carleton  Island  is  at  present  occupied  by  a  detachment  of 
his  Britannic  Majesty's  troops.  If  ho,  1  will  thank  you, 
sir,  to  point  out  to  me  the  course  to  be  pursued,  and  to 
whom  I  should  address  myself  to  obtain  possession  amica- 
bly, and  with  reciprocal  convenience  and  friendly  under- 
standing. Carleton  Island  being  on  the  south  side  of  the 
south  channel  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  no  doubt  can 
arise  tha'  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  of  '83.  and  that  of  Lon- 
don, of  '93.  existing  between  our  respective  nations.  Carle- 
ton  Island  belongs  to  the  United  States.  It  is  not,  however, 
intended  by  me,  to  discuss  as  a  matter  of  claim,  what  I 
presume  you,  or  the  proper  authority  of  your  country  will 
cheerfully  concede  as  to  the  right— more  especially  as  I 
am  informed  by  respectable  ir«dividuals  from  your  side  of 
the  Ontario,  that  the  few  N  h  troops  which  have  re- 
mained on  Carleton  Islan  ^  ^  merely  to  take  care  of 
the  works,  and  barracks. 

I  beg  you  will  please  to  tatvC  an  early  opportunity  to  in- 
form me  if  it  is  practicable  to  obtain  possession  of  Carleton 
Island  without  interrupting  the  germ  of  harmony  that  ap- 
pears to  be  obtaining  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  and  if  so,  I  shall  feel  obliged  if  you  will  please  to 
point  out  to  me  the  appropriate  manner  of  application,  and 
to  whom  I  should  direct  it. 

I  am,  sir,  with  wishes  for  the  amnesty  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States. 

Very  respectfully  your  most  obedient  servant, 

T.  Cross, 

XJ.  S.  Artillery  Commanding. 

Gapt.  H.  Mackenzie  to  Lieut.  Cross :     ■ 

Kingston,  August  27,  1808. 
Sir:    I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  letter  of  the  22d  inst. ,  in  regard  to  Carleton  Island. 

My  orders  are  to  obtain  that  place,  which  I  shall  implic- 
itly observe. 

The  proper  channel  of  application  towards  obtaining 
possession  of  that  Island,  would  I  conceive  be  from  your 
Government  to  Sir  James  Craig,  Captain-General,  and 
Commander-in-Chief  of  British  North  America,  to  whom 
as  well  as  to  Lieut. -Gov.  Gore  I  have  transmitted  your  let- 
ter on  this  subject. 


I 


4> 


-  i 


$68 


MORE  ABOUT  CARLETON  ISLAND. 


n 

<!il 


I  should  very  much  regret  any  occurrence  that  might  in- 
terrupt the  harmony  and  good  understanding  which  ap- 
pears to  be  in  a  fair  way  of  taking  place  between  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  Great  Britain. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

H.  Mackenzie, 

Lieut.  Cross,  )  Capt.  4l8t  Reg't.  &  Maj.  Com'd'y. 

&c  ,&c.,  &c.    ) 

Lieut. -Oov.  Oove  to  General  Craig,  K.  B.  : 

YoRF,  28th  August,  1808. 
Sir:    Major  Mackenzie  Commanding  at  Kingston,  hav- 
ing reportea  to  your  Excellency  the  extraordinary  request 
made  to  a  private  gentleman  by  the  Collector  at  Sackets 
>  Harbor,  for  the  occupation  of  Carleton  Island,  until  your 
Excellency's  Instructions  can  be  received.     I  have  only 
directed  Major  McKenzie  to  cause  it  to  be  communicatea 
through  the  same  channel  to  the  Collector,  that  Carleton 
Island,  being  in  the  possession  of  his  M.ijesty's  forces,  he 
cannot  permit  it  to  be  occupied  b^  the  armed  force  of  any 
other  nation,  unless  he  receives  directions  to  do  so. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  etc., 

James  Gore, 

His  Excellency,  )         Lieut. -Governor. 

General  Sir  James  Craig,  K.  B. 
&c.,  &c.,  &c. 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  LAKE  UPON  THE  SEASONS. 

It  is  well-known  that  the  region  on  the  lee-side  of  our 
Lakes  has  its  Spring  season  retarded  by  the  cooling  in- 
fluence of  the  water  over  which  the  winds  pass,  and  that 
for  this  reason,  fruits  come  to  perfection  with  more  cer- 
tainty there  than  in  places  not  thus  favored.  Mr.  Darby, 
one  of  the  Boundary  Surveyors  of  1818,  remarks  this  fact, 
as  he  observed  it  in  the  Spring  of  that  year  in  descending 
the  River  from  the  Lake.     He  found  the  early  part  of  May 


THE  LAKE  AND  TUE  SEASONS. 


es9 


NS. 


our 

in- 

Ithat 

Icer- 

fby. 

tact, 

ling 

[ay 


considerable  more  forward,  below  the  Thousand  Islands 

than  above  them, 

"From  Sackets  Harbor  to  tiic  entrance  into  the  St.  Law- 
rence, tlie  shores  presented  all  the  desolation  of  Winter; 
the  birch  was  the  only  forest-tree  that  indicated  approach- 
ing Spring;  but  below  the  Islands,  advancing  northward, 
an  evident  change  was  visible.  The  sugar-tree,  willow, 
birch,  and  many  shrubs  were  in  considerable  advance,  and 
the  fields  on  the  Canadian  shore  more  so  than  on  the  New 
York  side,  from  greater  exposure  to  tlie  sun." 

In  fact,  he  was  quite  charmed  with  the  appearance 
along  the  North  shore,  of  which,  after  quoting  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  country  from  Bouchette,  he  says : 

'  "The  rapid  change  made  upon  an  uncultivated  country 
by  the  introduction  of  the  necessary  arts  of  civilized  life, 
never  did  receive  a  more  striking  exemplification  than  is 
now  given  by  the  left  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  below  the 
Thousand  Islands,  as  far  down  as  Hamilton  (Waddiugton). 
Fields  joining  to  fields,  farm-houses  with  their  most  attrac- 
tive decoration,  garden,  meadows  and  orchard,  smile  along 
this  truly  elegant  slope.  Villages,  with  many  of  the  high- 
est|traces  of  cultivated  life,  with  all  the  first  principles  of 
civilization,  rise  along  this  once  desolate  waste.  Brock- 
ville,  Prescott  and  Johnstown,  are  now  what  were  once 
New  York  and  Philadelphia;  what  were  once  Quebec  and 
Montreal ;  and  ranging  further  back  in  the  lapse  of  ages, 
what  were  once  Athens,  Rome,  Paris  and  London. 

"Many  times,  when  the  rising  and  setting  sun  spread  a 
glow  of  golden  lustre  over  this  attractive  picture,  have  I 
demanded  of  myself.  Was  this  country  a  gloomy  forest- 
scene  only  five  and  thirty  years  past?  The  rich  lustre  of 
harvest  would  have  answered,  that  upon  this  expanse,  the 
labor  of  ages  had  been  expended,  but  history  faithfully 
points  to  the  contrary.  In  1783,  the  axe  first  resounded  on 
these  shores;  and  now,  in  1818,  the  world  can  present  but 
few,  if  any,  regions  of  equal  extent,  where  all  that  can 
allure  the  eye  or  gratify  the  mind,  can  be  found  more  con- 
densed into  one  view.  Savage  life  has  disappeared  for- 
ever, and  in  its  place  now  stands  the  residence  of  the  in- 
structed Man." 
17 


r 


AUTUMNAL    SCENERY  OF    THE  NORTHERN 
STATF8  AND  OF  CANADA. 

We  have  noticed  in  the  descriptions  of  several  travellers 
in  the  preceding  pages,  an  allusion  to  the  coloring  of  the 
forests  of  this  region  towards  the  close  of  Autumn,  form- 
ing, indeed,  one  of  the  attractions  most  likely  to  fix  itself 
in  the  memory,  in  the  declining  season  of  the  year.  This 
was  most  fully  given  by  the  German  traveller,  Dr.  Kohl, 
whose  account  of  the  Islands  will  be  found  on  pages  166- 
174  of  this  volume.  We  will  commence  the  description 
with  his  arrival  at  Kingston,  late  on  a  warm,  bright,  richly- 
colored  Autumnal  afternoon,  when  the  setting  sun  pre- 
sented a  most  imposing  appearance.  There  was  still 
enough  of  daylight  left  to  get  a  line  view  of  the  City,  and 
its  suburbs,  and  he  departed  by  Steamer  for  Toronto  the 
same  evening.  He  describes  the  passage  as  one  of  exqui- 
site beauty,  the  last  glow  of  twilight  shedding  a  glory  over 
the  apparently  boundless  water,  which  seemed  like  the 
feea  without  limit.  As  it  grew  dark,  the  waters  presented 
the  novel  spectacle  af  moving  lights  near  the  shore,  where 
the  fishermen  were  following  their  business  by  torch-light ; 
and  later  in  the  night,  the  heavens  were  lit  up  by  the  Au- 
rora Borealis  with  unusual  splendor. 

It  may  almost  be  questioned  as  to  whether,  amid  these 
shifting  scenes  of  novelty,  our  worthy  traveller  got  time 
for  a  moment's  repose,  for  his  description  of  the  midnight 


■**iH.* 


AUTUMNAL   COLORS. 


271 


Aurora,  with  its  gleaming  pencils  of  light,  its  corona  and 
its  dazzling  arch,  passes  directly  into  the  picture  of  a 
morning  on  the  Lake,  that  follows: 

"  But  its  splendors  were  far  exceeded  in  beauty  by  the 
tender  tints  of  the  Aurora  0?*?V?/i^rt/w  that  afterwards  showed 
themselves  on  the  Eastern  horizon,  and  then  filled  the 
whole  atmosphere  with  its  light.  A  delicate  mist  had  risen 
toward  sunrise,  and  the  sun  had  made  use  of  this  gauzy 
veil  to  paint  it  with  the  loveliest  \  ale  tints.  I  do  not  won- 
der that  the  tas^e  for  coloring  should  develop  itself  in  such 
a  land  of  mist,  where  the  palette  of  Nature  is  provided 
with  such  a  variety  of  finely  graduated  hues.  The  eye  is 
sharpened  to  their  differences,  while  in  tropical  regions, 
where  the  chief  colors  appear  most  strikingly,  the  senses 
are  dazzled.  As  the  sun  rose,  1  remarked  to  my  surprise 
that  the  redness  of  the  morning  dawn  had  not  passed  from 
the  horizon,  as  it  commonly  does,  but  remained  hanging  as 
a  very  decided  red  segment  of  a  circle,  and  the  higher  the 
sun  rose,  the  further  it  stretched,  till  towards  eleven  o'clock 
it  occupied  one -half  of  the  horizon,  while  the  opposite 
side,  which  was  of  a  light  grayish  tint,  lost  ground  more 
ard  more,  and  at  length  the  sun  appeared  as  a  radiant 
focus  in  the  centre  of  an  atmosphere  of  light,  which,  with 
few  variations,  passed  into  red  all  round  the  horizon.  I 
saw  this  remarkable  phenomenon  here  for  the  first  time, 
but  afterw^ards  frequently,  and  learned  that  it  especially 
belonged  to  the  'Indian  Summer,'  and  was  known  under 
the  name  of  '  the  pink  mist.'  " 

A  short  time  after,  our  traveller,  in  passing  northward 
from  Toronto,  jon  the  route  to  Lake  Simcoe,  had  occasion 
to  again  revert  to  the  glories  of  the  Autumnal  forest,  which 
be  had  already  noticed  in  passing  among  the  Thousand  Is- 
lands. His  description  has  no  local  application,  but  will 
faithfully  represent  the  impressions  of  an  intelligent  ob- 
server in  the  deciduous  forests  of  any  part  of  the  Northern 
Btates,  and  of  Car-ada,  in  the  fading  season  of  the  year  : 

'  'The  trees  here  still  gloried  in  the  rich  coloring  of  their 
leafage,  although  in  Quebec,  a  fortnight  before,  the  vege- 


lil 


i   uf. 


\ 


)'{fA, 


272 


AUTUMNAL  COLORS. 


i 


I 


tation  had  assumed  a  bare  and  wintry  aspect.  The  elegant 
and  much-prized  mapl'j  was  conspicuous  among  them,  as  it 
mostly  is  in  Canada,  and  its  leaves  exhibited  more  shades 
and  gradations  of  golden-yellow  and  crimson  than  can  be 
found  in  the  best  furnished  color-box.  Even  when  you 
wall'  on  dark  cloudy  day^  in  the  forest,  the  trees  shed 
around  you  such  gorgeous  colors,  that  you  might  imagine 
it  was  bright  sunlight.  You  seem  to  be  walking  in  the 
midst  of  some  magic  sunset  of  the  declining  year.  The 
leaves  of  ihe  maple  are  too  as  elegantly  cut  as  they  are 
richly  adorned  with  color,  and  the  Canadians  pay  them  the 
same  hom  ige  as  the  Irish  do  their  green  immortal  Sham- 
rock. They  are  collected,  pressed  and  preserved;  ladies 
select  the  most  beautiful  to  form  natural  garlands  for  their 
ball-dresses.  You  see  in  Canada  tables  and  other  furniture 
inlaid  with  bouquets  and  wreaths  of  varnished  Maple 
leaves,  and  you  see  an  elegant  Steamer  with  the  name 
Maple  Leaf  painted  in  large  letters  on  the  side.  Some- 
times the  Canadians  would  nsk  me,  in  their  glorious  woods, 
whether  1  had  ever  seen  anything  like  them  in  Europe,  and 
if  I  answered  that,  though  their  woods  were  especially 
beautiful,  I  had  elsewhere  observed  red  and  yellow  autumn 
leaves,  they  would  smile  and  shake  their  heads,  as  if  they 
meant  to  say  that  a  stranger  could  never  appreciate  the 
beauties  of  a  Canadian  forest  thus  dying  in  golden  flame. 
I  have  seen  a  Swiss,  born  and  bred  among  the  Alps,  smile 
just  as  pityingly  at  the  enthusiasm  of  strangers  for  their 
mountains,  evidently  regarding  it  as  a  mere  momentary 
flare,  and  that  they  only  could  know  how  to  value  the 
charms  of  their  native  land. 

"The  magnificent  coloring  of  these  trees  strikes  you  most, 
I  think,  when  the  gilding  has  only  Just  begun,  and  the 
green,  yellow  and  scarlet  tints  are  mmgled  with  the  most 
delicate  transitions.  Sometimes  it  seems  as  if  Nature  were 
amusing  herself  with  these  graceful  playthings,  for  you 
see  green  trees  twisted  ab«;ut  with  garlands  of  rich  red 
leaves,  like  wreaths  of  roses,  and  then  a^ain  red  trees, 
wher  the  wreaths  are  green,  I  followed  with  delight,  too, 
the  series  of  changes,  from  the  most  brilliant  crimson  to 
the  darkest  claret  color,  then  to  a  rich  brown,  which 
passed  into  the  cold  pale  grey  of  the  winter.  It  seems  to 
me  evident  that  the  sun  of  this  climate  has  some  quite 
peculiar  power  in  its  beams,  and  that  the  faintest  tint  of 


AUTUMNAL  COLORS. 


27S 


of 


the  autumn  foliage  has  a  pure  intensity  of  color  that  you 
do  not  see  in  Europe.  Possibly  you  see  the  climate  and 
character  of  Canada  mirrored  in  these  autumn  leaves,  and 
it  is  the  rapid  and  violent  transitions  of  heat  and  cold  that 
produce  these  vivid  contrasts. 

"The  frost  that  sometimes  sets  in  suddenly  after  a  very 
hot  day,  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  chief  painters  of  these 
American  woods.  When  he  does  but  touch  the  trees  they 
immediately  blush  rosy  red.  I  was  warned,  therefore,  not 
to  regard  wliat  I  saw  this  year  as  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  his 
artistic  efforts,  since  the  frost  had  come  this  time  very 
gradually.  The  summer  heat  had  lasted  unusually  long, 
and  the  drouth  had  been  extraordinary,  so  that  the  leaves 
had  become  gradually  dry  and  withered,  instead  of  being 
suddenly  struck  by  the  frost  while  their  sap  was  still 
abundant,  a  necessary  condition,  it  appears,  for  this  bril- 
liant coloring."^ 

As  if  quite  unable  to  tear  himself  from  a  subject  ^hat 
had  so  thoroughly  awakened  his  attention, our  keenly  obser- 
vant traveller,  after  describing  many  other  scenes  of  Indian 
and  Pioneer  life,  presented  in  his  northern  journey,  many 
pages  further  on,  again  recurs  to  his  favorite  impressions. 
He  had  been  so  often  interrupted  by  impertinent  inquiries, 
as  to  who  he  was — where  he  was  going — on  what  business 
— where  he  intended  to  buy  land — and  where  he  meant  to 
settle,  that  he  had  devised  a  ready  means  for  getting  rid  of 
these  annoyances — for  when  he  saw  one  of  these  inquisit- 

(1)  It  is  more  probable  that  these  gaudy  tints  of  the 
maple  forests  are  due  to  a  ripenin-i-  process,  analagous  to 
that  which  gives  color  to  many  kinds  of  ripening  fruit. 
We  find  the  colors  come  before  frost,  and  on  some  branches 
of  a  tree  before  others  on  the  same  tree,  as  the  leaves  happen 
to  be  more  mature,  or  exposed  to  the  ripening  influences  of 
autumn.  In  some  years  the  display  is  more  brilliant  than 
in  others;  particularly  where  a  series  of  rainy  da3's,  or 
period  of  damp  foggy  weather,  is  followed  by  bright  clear 
sunshine,  and  cold,  but  not  frosty  nights. — Ed. 


21It 


AUTUMNAL   COLORS. 


*l 


ors  approaching,  he  at  once  began  a  short  biographical 
recitation,  stating  where  born — his  origin — what  he  had 
come  for  and  what  not,  and  so  forth,  ending  with  the 
declaration  that  he  did  not  intend  to  settle  in  the  country, 
nor  to  buy  land.  As  soon  as  everybody  knew  who  and 
what  he  was,  they  cared  little  more  about  him,  and  having 


thus 


iitj  was,  iiit;^  caruu  miie  uiure  auuut  iiiui,  auu  uav 
cheaply  purchased  a  truce  from  further  inquiry, 
[  settle  down  to  the  calm  eniovment  of  the  seen 


he 


could  settle  down  to  the  calm  enjoyment  of  the  scenery 
before  him.     He  says : 

"I  would  gladly  give  some  idea  of  its  beauty,  but  it  is 
often  difficult  to  convey  impressions  of  this  kind,  without 
falling  into  repetitions,  which,  though  often  far  from  un- 
welcome in  Nature,  where  there  are  always  shades  of  dif- 
ference, are  very  apt  to  be  so  in  books.  To  me,  there  was 
a  never  ending  enjoyment  in  gazing  on  the  coloring  of  a 
Canadian  forest  in  its  autumnal  glory,  and  observing  the 
modifications  of  their  colors  produced  by  a  greater  or  less 
distance.  From  the  immediate  fore-ground  to  the  remotest 
point  there  was  a  scale  of  a  hundred  degrees.  The  trees 
near  at  hand  were  of  a  full  rose  or  orange  hue,  and  every 
leaf  a  piece  of  glittering  gold,  and  yet  every  tree  had 
feomething  that  distinguished  it  from  all  the  rest,  and  al- 
though there  were  only  leaves,  the  colors  equaled  those  of 
a  tropical  forest  in  spring,  when  it  is  covered  with  blos- 
soms. Farther  on,  the  colors  were  melted  together 
into  one  general  tint  of  bright  pink,  then  a 
little  blue  mingled  with  it,  and  there  arose  several  softest 
tones  of  lilac;  sometimes  according  to  the  conditions  of 
the  atmosphere,  the  distant  woods  appeared  of  a  deep  indi- 
go, and  then  perhaps  would  interpose  a  little  island  of 
glowing  red-gold  upon  an  azure  ground,  but  if  your  eye 
followed  the  line  of  forest  to  the  East,  the  colors  as  well  as 
the  trees  shrank  together,  and  a  great  wood  of  leafy  oak, 
elm  and  maple  would  look  like  a  low  patch  of  reddish 
heath." 

The  Poet  Whittier,  in  describing  an  autumnal  scene, 
strikingly  applicable  to  this  region,  although  intended  for 
another,  says :  — 


— yi 


AUTUMNAL   COLORS. 


S7d 


,   »     Beneath  the  westward  turning  eye 

A  thousand  wooded  islands  lie— 

Gems  of  the  waters  !— with  each  hue 

Of  brightnass  set  in  oceans  blue. 
- '     .  Each  bears  aloft  its  tuft  of  trees 

Touched  by  the  pencil  of  the  frost, 

And  with  the  motion  of  each  breeze, 
A  moment  seen— a  moment  lost- 
Changing-  and  blent,  confused  and  tossed, 
The  brighter  with  the  darker  crossed. 

Their  thousand  tints  of  beauty  glow 

Down  in  the  restless  waves  below, 
And  tremble  in  the  suny  skies, 

As  if  from  waving  bough  to  bough 

Flitted  the  birds  of  paradise. 

While  never  tiring  in  his  admiration  of  the  land,  with  its 
shifting  scenes  of  beauty,  and  towns  and  villages  with  their 
evidences  of  thrift,  our  writer  alluded  to  the  praises  which 
travellers  had  bestowed  upon  the  Lakes.  While  express- 
ing his  unwillingness  to  detract  anything  from  their 
aesthetic  merits,  as  he  gazed  upon  the  wide  expanse  of 
Ontario,  with  its  broad  flashing  diamond  surface,  border- 
ed with  delicate  pink  and  varied  by  richly- wooded  shores 
and  mountains,  and  sprinkled  by  vessels  of  all  sizes,  sailers 
and  steamers,  which  often,  when  you  could  not  see  in  the 
water,  appeared  to  be  floating  in  the  air — he  concludes 
with  the  ironical  remark  as  if  in  derision  of  the  utilitarian 
tendencies  of  America,  hat  all  these  praises  appeared  to 
him  a  little  exagerated. 

"  If  any  one  could  nil  up  nine-tenths  of  these  Lakes  with 
earth,  he  would,  I  think,  make  the  country  a  more  valua- 
ble present.  Faute  de  Mieux,  ^  I  admit  these  Lakes  may  be 
considered  as  useful  institutions,  but  in  an  economical  point 
of  view,  a  Lake  is  a  wide  wilderness,  a  quite  superfluously 
broad-road — in  fact,  a  very  extravagant  arrangement.  A 
well-connected  system  of  Rivers,  made  on  wisely  saving 
principles,  is  really  a  much  more  admirable  production  or 
Nature  than  a  great  Cyclopic,  ratJier  clumsy  series  of  Lakes, 
like  those  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

"  If  one  could  keep  the  Erie  and  Ontario  at  their  present 
(1)  "For  want  of  better." 


i 


lit 
(1? 
3 


,"  f 


276 


LAKE  ONTARIO. 


depth,  and  stretch  out  their  apparently  boundless  expanse 
into  good  canals  of  moderate  breadth,  and  turn  the  land 
on  each  side  into  corn-fields  *  *  *  \  should 
consider  it  much  more  worthy  of  admiration  than  these 
great  awkward  basins,  which  we  ought  to  get  rid  of,  or 
re-model  as  soon  as  we  can. " 


LAKE  ONTARIO  :  IMPRESSIONS  OF  TRAVELERS. 

Mr.  Eliot  Warburton  in  his  "Hochelega,   or  England  in 

the  New  World,"  speaks  of  the  Lakes  in  a  way  that  shows 

that  he  was  not  cheerfully  impressed  : 

"The  waters  are  blue,  pure  and  clear,  but  they  look  dead. 
There  was  a  great  calm  when  I  was  there,  and  there  are  no 
tides;  the  stillness  was  oppressive;  the  leaves  of  the  trees 
in  some  parts  of  the  beach  dipped  in  the  water  below,  mo- 
tionless as  the  air  above.  The  shores  are  low  and  flat  on 
this  side.  The  eye  wearried,  as  it  followed  the  long  even 
lines  in  the  far-perspective,  mingling  with  those  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  Lake ;  on  the  other  side  the  broad  expanse  lay 
like  polished  lead,  backed  by  the  cloudless  sky." 

As  an  evidence  that  impressions  are  quite  as  much  de- 
pendent upon  the  frame  of  mind  of  the  observer,  as  the 
nature  of  the  scene  observed,  we  place  in  contrast  with  the 
above,  a  description  by  Mrs.  Anna  Jameson,  the  well- 
known  author  of  "Female  Sovereigns,"  "Characteristics of 
Women,"  ana  various  legendary  and  literary  works,  and 
treatises  on  the  Fine  Arts.  This  lady  resided  for  a  time  at 
Toronto,  where  her  husband  in  1841,  held  the  office  of 
Vice  Chancellor  of  Upper  Canada.  In  her  highly  imagin- 
ative and  poetic  pictures  of  scenery,  we  find  the  following 
in  the  book  entitled  "Winter  Studies  and  Summer  Rambles 
in  Canada" : 


TORONTO  IN  1793. 


277 


\^ 


"This  beautiful  Lake  Ontario! — my  Lake — for  I  begin  to 
be  in  love  with  it,  and  look  on  it  as  mine ! — it  changed  its 
hues  every  moment,  the  shades  of  purple  and  green  fleet- 
ing over  it,  now  dark,  low  lustrous,  now  pale, — like  a  dol- 
phin dying;  or,  to  use  a  more  exact  though  less  poetical 
comparison,  dappled,  an'l  varying  like  the  back  of  a  mack- 
erel, with  every  now  and  then  a  streak  of  silver  light 
dividing  the  shades  of  green;  magnificent,  tremulous 
clouds  came  rolling  round  the  horizon;  and  the  little  grace- 
ful schooners  falling  into  every  beautiful  attitude,  and 
catching  every  variety  of  light  and  shade,  came  courtesy- 
ing  into  the  bay;  and  flights  of  wild  geese,  and  great  black 
loons,  were  skimming,  diving,  sporting  over  the  bosom  of 
the  Lake." 

Still  another  writer,  whose  name  is  lost  in  oblivion,  and 

upon  whom  the  inspiration  may  never  have  come  but  once, 

as  he  looked  out  upon  the  Lake,  thus  apostrophized  : 

,    "Green  are  thy  waters— green  as  bottle  glass  ; 
Behold  them  stretched  tnar ! 
Fine  niuscolunges  and  Oswego  bass, 
Is  often  catch'd  thar; 
Onst  the  red  Indian  here  took  his  delights, 
Fish'd,  fit  and  bled— 
Now  the  inhabitants  is  mostly  whites, 
And  nary  red." 


EARLY  NOTICES  OF  TOWNS  UPON  LAKE  ON- 
TARIO. 

THE  BEGINNING  AT  TORONTO,    IN   1793. 

Mr.  Joseph  Bouchette,  Surveyor  General  of  Lower  Can- 
ada, in  his  elaborate  topographical  and  statistical  work 
published  in  1832,  ^  gives  the  following  reminiscence  of  the 
first  survey  at  Toronto  : 

'  'It  fell  to  my  lot  to  make  the  first  survey  of  York  Har- 

(1)  British  Dominion  in  North  America,  or  a  Typographi- 
cal and  Statistical  description  of  the  Provinces^  Loicer  and 
Upper  Canada,  etc.    London;  2  vols,,  4to. 


t 


« 


278        TORONTO  IN  1793.— OSWEGO  IN  17ItS. 


i 


bor  in  1793.  LieiiteuantGoverncr,  the  late  General  Sim- 
coe,  who  then  resided  at  Navy  Hall,  Niagara,  having 
formed  extensive  plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  colony, 
had  resolved  upon  laying  the  foundations  of  a  Provincial 
Capitol.  I  was  at  that  period  in  the  naval  service  of  the 
Lakes,  and  the  survey  of  Toronto  (York)  Harbor  was  en- 
trusted by  his  Excellency  to  my  performance.  I  still  recol- 
lect the  untamed  aspect  which  the  country  exhibited  when 
first  I  entered  the  beautiful  basin,  which  thus  became  the 
scene  of  my  early  hydrographical  operations.  Dense  and 
trackless  forests  lined  the  margin  of  the  Lake, and  reflected 
their  inverted  images  in  its  glassy  surface.  The  wandering 
savage  had  construe ed  his  ephemeral  habitation  beneath 
their  luxuriant  foliage — the  group  then  consisted  of  two 
families  of  Messassagas — and  the  bay  and  neighboring 
marshes  w^ere  hitherto  uninvaded  haunts  of  immense  coveys 
of  wildfowl;  indeed,  they  were  so  abundant  as  in  some 
measure  to  annoy  us  during  the  night.  In  the  spring  fol- 
lowing, the  Lieutenant  Governor  removed  the  site  of  the 
new  capital,  attended  by  the  Regiment  of  the  Queen's 
Rangers,  and  commenced  at  once  the  realization  of  his 
favorite  project.  His  Exjellency  inhabited  during  the 
summer  and  through  the  winter  a  canvas  house,  which  he 
imported  expressly  for  the  occasion ;  but  frail  as  was  its 
substance,  it  was  rendered  exceedingly  comfortable,  and 
soon  became  as  distinguished  for  the  social  and  urbane 
hospitality  of  its  venerated  and  gracious  host,  as  for  the 
peculiarity  of  its  structure. " 


OSWEGO,  IN  EARLY  DAYS. 

JOHN  BARTRAM. — (1743.) 

"We  get  a  glimpse  of  the  Lake  and  a  sketch  of  Oswego, 
from  the  writings  of  John  Bartram,  a  pioneer  naturalist, 
living  near  Philadelphia,  who  made  a  journey  for  scientific 
observation,  as  far  north  as  Lake  Ontario,  in  1743  :^ 

(1)  Ohiervations  on  the  Inhabitants,  Climate,  Soil,  Hivers, 
Prodi'stions,  Animals,  and  other  matters  worthy  of  notice, 
made  hy  Mr.  John  Bartram,  in  his  Travels  from  Pennsylva^ 
nia  to  Onondaga,  Oswego  and  Lake  Ontario,  in  Canada,  1751. 


OSWEGO  m  1743. 


279 


ice, 
'va- 
51. 


"Osweaco  is  an  infant  settlement,  made  by  the  Province 
of  New  York,  with  the  noble  view  of  gaining  to  the  crown 
of  Great  Britain  the  command  of  the  five  lakes,  and  the 
dependence  of  the  Indians  in  their  neighborhood,  and  to 
its  subjects  the  benefit  of  the  trade  upon  them,  and  of  the 
rivers  that  empty  themselves  into  them.  At  present,  the 
whole  navigation  is  carried  on  by  the  Indians  themselves 
in  bark  canoes,  and  there  are  perhaps  many  reasons  for 
desiring  it  should  continue  so  for  some  years  at  least ;  but 
a  good  Englisliman  cannot  be  without  hopes  of  seeing 
these  great  lakes  become  one  day  accustomed  to  English 
navigation.  It  is  true,  the  famous  Fall  of  Niagara  is  an 
insurmountable  bar  to  all  i)assage  b)--  water,  from  the  Lake 
Ontario,  into  the  Lake  Erie,  in  such  vessels  as  are  proper  for 
the  secure  navigation  of  either;  but,  besides  that,  bark 
canoes  are  carried  on  men's  shoulder's  with  ease,  from  one 
to  the  other,  as  far  as  the  passage  is  impracticable. 

"We  came  to  the  town  about  12  o'clock.  The  Commis- 
sary invited  us  to  the  castle  where  we  dined,  together  with 
the  doctor  and  clerk.  After  dinner  we  had  the  satisfaction 
of  swimming  in  the  Lake  Ontario,  which  is  sometimes 
called  by  the  Indians  Cadarakin.  This  is  also  the  name  of 
a  French  fort  upon  it,  almost  opposite  to  Oswego,  north. 
It  has  four  bastions  built  of  stone,  and  is  near  half  a  mile 
in  circumference.  It  stands  where  the  waters  of  this  lake 
are  already  formed  into  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  which 
makes  a  good  road  for  great  l)arks  under  the  point  of 
Cadarakin  Bay.  The  famous  and  unfortunate  Mr.  De  la 
Salle  had  built  two  barks  which  remain  sunk  there,  to  this 
day." 

He  speaks  of  a  kind  of  flux  and  reflux  of  the  waters 
several  times  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  observes  that  the 
waters  of  the  Lake  once  stood  high  above  their  present 
level,  the  subsidence  being  attributed  either  to  an  absorp- 
tion into  the  interior  of  the  earth,  as  conjectured  by  Sir 
Isaac  Newton,  or  else  to  the  wearing  away  of  obstructions 
in  the  St.  Lawrence. 

Early  the  next  morning,  after  lodging  in  the  Captain's 
chamber  in  the  cas;le,  our  traveller  walked  out  to  botanize, 
as  he  had  done  the  evening  before.  He  says  :  "I  ob- 
served a  kitchen  garden,  and  a  grave  yard  to  the  south- 


I: 


i 


i80 


OSWEOO  JN  1743. 


I 


west  of  the  castle ;  which  puts  me  in  mind  that  the  neigh- 
borhood of  this  Lake  is  esteemed  unhealthful.  We  were 
entertained  by  one  of  the  traders,  with  whom  we  break- 
fasted; and  brought  of  him  some  dried  beef;  and  a  gallon 
of  rum  we  got  at  the  castle.  The  traders  had  disposed  of 
most  of  their  biscuit,  and  had  packed  up  their  provisions 
to  return  directly  to  Albany.  However,  one  of  them  went 
about  to  the  rest,  and  collected  us  a  good  parcel  of  biscuit, 
a  kindness  we  were  very  sensible  of.  After  breakfast,  I 
re^j-ulated  my  journal,  having  a  convenient  private  room  to 
do  it  in.  We  dined  at  the  castle,  and  at  3  o'clock  set  out 
for  Onondaga."  They  got  as  far  as  Oswego  Falls  that 
night,  where  they  slept  as  well  as  they  could,  considering 
that  "the  Indian  squaws  got  very  drunk,  and  made  a  sad 
noise  till  morning."  The  same  accident  had  happened  to 
their  Indian  guide,  and  he  himself  felt  a  good  deal  indis- 
posed. 

Oswego  in  1743  was  described  as  follows  • 

"On  the  point  formed  by  the  entrance  of  the  river,stands 
the  fort,  or  trading  castle.  It  is  a  strong  stone  house,  in- 
compassed  with  a  stone  wall  near  20  feet  high,  and  130 
paces  around,  built  of  large  squared  stones,  very  curious 
for  their  softness,  I  cut  my  name  in  it  with  my  knife. 
The  town  consists  of  about  70  log  houses,  of  which  one- 
half  are  in  a  row  near  the  river,  the  other  half  opposite 
them.  On  the  other  side  of  a  fair  were  two  streets  divided 
by  a  row  of  posts  in  the  middle,  where  each  Indian  has  his 
house  to  lay  his  goods,  and  where  the  traders  may  traffic 
with  them.  This  is  surely  an  excellent  regulation  for  pre- 
venting the  traders  from  imposing  on  the  Indians,  a  prac- 
tice they  have  been  formerly  too  much  guilty  of. 

"The  chief  officer  in  command  at  the  castle  keeps  a  good 
look-out  to  see  when  the  Indians  come  down  the  lake  with 
their  peltry  and  furs,   and  sends  a  canoe  to  meet  them, 


OSWEQO  IN  1743. 


SSI 


which  conducts  them  to  the  castle,  to  prevent  any  person 
inticing  them  to  put  ashore  privaiely,  treating  them  with 
spirituous  liquors,  and  then  talking  that  opportunity  of 
cheating  them.  This  officer  seems  very  careful  that  all 
quarreling,  and  even  the  least  misunderstanding,  when  any 
happens,  be  quickly  made  up  in  an  amicable  manner, 
since  a  speedy  accommodation  can  only  prevent  our  coun- 
trymen from  incurring  tlie  imputation  of  injustice,  and  the 
delay  of  it  would  produce  the  disagreeable  consequences 
of  an  Indian's  endeavoring  to  right  himself  by  force. " 


ROBERT   HARE. 

In  a  memorandum  of  a  Tour  through  a  part  of  North 
America,  by  Robert  Hare,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  ^  we  find 
a  notice  of  this  region  as  seen  in  the  summCi'  of  1774,  just 
before  the  Revolutionary  war.  This  writer,  in  company 
with  Mr.  William  Allen,  travelled  by  stage  to  New  York 
and  thence  by  water  to  Albany.  From  thence,  through  a 
sandy,  heavy  road  and  through  a  dense  pine  forest,  they 
found  their  way  to  Schenectady,  where  the  water  passage 
was  resumed  to  Oswego.  They  found  Oneida  Lake  very 
pleasant  and  stored  with  an  astonishing  plenty  of  tish.  The 
Indians  living  near  the  lake  were  firm  friends  of  the 
English,  and  at  Oswego  Falls  the  place  was  infested  by  a 
party  of  beggarly  Onoudagas,  who  were  very  troublesome 
to  passengers.  They  bought  of  them  four  large  salmon  for 
twenty  biscuits  and  a  pint  of  rum,  and  presented  them 
another  quart — which  secured  their  civility.  At  Oswego 
was  a  fort  in  ruins,  and  the  remains  of  another  built  origin- 

(1)  Collections  of  the  Hist&ri,cal  Society  of  Pennsplm^iia, 
i.  363.  This  writer  was  an  Englishman,  and  the  father  of 
the  late  Robert  Hare,  a  distinguished  professor  of  Chemistry 
in  Philadelphia. 


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ally  by  the  French,  from  whom  it  was  taken  by  the  English, 
but  retaken  and  entirely  destroyed  by  them. 

From  Oswego  they  went  west,  touching  at  Sodas  Bay 
and  the  "Genesay  River,"  ascending  the  latter  about  seven 
miles  to  view  a  cataract,  the  sight  of  which  repaid  them 
amply  for  a  painful  walk  of  a  mile  on  the  points  of  broken 
rocks,  where  they  were  every  moment  in  fear  of  rattle- 
snakes which  they  were  told  abounded  there.  The  fall  is 
described  as  "situated  on  the  bosom  of  an  immense  semi- 
rotund,  formed  by  the  breaking  of  the  rock.  It  is  about 
sixty  feet  high  and  one  hundred  in  breadth,  but,"  he  says, 
"in  my  opinion,  not  so  striking  as  the  Cohoes,  though  its 
situation  is  very  pleasing.  The  river  is  beautifully  adorn- 
ed with  verdant  trees. "  Such  was  the  cascade  in  Rochester 
city  as  it  existed  in  the  solitude  of  its  primitive  wildness. 

After  visiting  Niagara,  these  travellers  returned  down 
the  Lake,  after  waiting  several  days  for  the  return  of  the 
Snow ;  then  apparently  the  only  vessel  on  the  Lake.  On 
this  they  embarked  June  2l8t,  and  having  been  becalmed, 
and  then  opposed  by  a  strong  gale,  they  finally  on  the  23d 
were  brought  by  a  favoring  gale  to  an  anchorage  just  at 
the  head  of  the  St.  Lawrence.     Of  this  they  say: 

"The  entrance  of  this  river  is  thick  sown  with  an  infinite 
number  of  islands,  which  were  in  fine  verdure  and  had  a 
most  pleasing  effect. 

"June  24th,  the  wind  favored  us  about  nine  in  the 
morning,  when  we  set  sail  and  advanced  into  the  river. 
The  breeze  continued  all  day  and  carried  us  about  eighty 
miles.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  pleasantness  of  this 
day's  passage,  through  the  fineness  of  the  weather  and  the 
beauty  of  the  prospect.  This  part  of  the  river  is  called 
le%  Mille  lies,  (the  Thousand  Islands,)  and  if  I  might  judge 


OSWEGO  IN  1784. 


288 


te 

a 


from  the  number  I  could  see,  there  are  not  many  less. 
What  must  be  the  beauty  of  this  prospect  when  the  country 
is  cleared  and  cultivated  !  Some  of  these  islands  are  very 
large,  extending  from  five  to  ten  miles.  The  soil  in  general 
appears  to  be  extremely  good ;  some  of  the  islands  indeed 
are  rocky,  but  these  serve  as  a  foil  to  the  beauty  of  the 
rest,  and  have  no  disagreeable  effect.  The  river  is  equally 
beautiful,  as  I  am  t^ld,  from  its  head  to  its  mouth." 

Oswegatchie  was  at  this  time  a  small  post,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Foster.  Fort  Levis,  four  miles  below, 
then  called  Fort  William  Henry,  had  been  suffered  to  fall 
into  luins,  since  its  conquest  in  1760,  but  was  noticed  as  a 
work  admirably  situated  for  commanding  the  river. 

Osicego,  as  8ee?i  by  John  Long,  the  Indian  Trader. 

Of  Oswego,  about  the  year  1784,  Mr.  Long  remarks  : 

"Fort  Oswego,  on  Lake  Ontario,  formerly  called  Lake 
Frontenac,  is  a  good  fortification,  ana  capable  of  contain- 
ing six  hundred  men.  This  post  is  particularly  important, 
as  it  is  the  key  to  the  United  States,  and  commands  the 
opening  to  the  north,  Hudson's  River,  protecting  the  trade 
with  the  Indians  who  live  en  the  banks  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, and  the  whole  extent  of  the  great  sheet  of  water 
near  which  it  stands,  reckoned  about  eighty  leagues  in 
length,  and  in  some  places  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
broad." 

In  another  place  he  says  :  "The  population  of  these  new 
settlements,  and  their  parallel  situation  with  Fort  Oswe- 
gatchie, Carleton  Island,  Oswego  and  Niagara,  evince, 
perhaps,  more  forcibly  than  ever,  the  propriety  of  retain- 
ing these  barriers  in  our  possession."  All  of  these  places 
were  then  in  the  possession  of  the  British,  and  so  remained 
until  given  up  under  Jay's  Treaty  in  the  summer  of  1796. 

Oswego  in  1793, 
Late  in  the  fall  of  1793,   a  party  consisting  of   three 
Frenchmen  and  several  boatmen,  arrived  from  the  inland 


U    if- 

till'- 


S84  OSWEGO  IN  1793. 

route  at  Oswego.  They  consisted  of  Pierre  Pharoux  and 
Simon  Desji;  Uns,  agents  sent  out  to  explore  and  prepare 
for  settlemeni  the  Castorland  Tract  in  Lewis  and  Jeffer- 
son counties,  and  Mark  Isambert  Brunei,  then  a  young 
man  about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  who  afterwards  ac- 
quired great  eminence  as  an  engineer  and  inventor,  being 
the  constructor  of  the  first  great  Tunnel  under  the  Thames, 
and  the  successful  inventor  of  many  wood-working  and 
other  machines.  He  was  at  this  period  a  political  exile 
from  France,  unknown  to  fame,  but  keenly  alive  to  obser- 
vation, and  full  of  expedients  to  overcome  any  obstacles 
that  might  come  in  his  way.  The  right  bank  of  the  river 
was  then  commanded  by  a  fort  that  was  falling  into  decay, 
but  was  still  held  by  a  garrison  of  about  forty  men,  under 
Captain  Theodore  Schoedde,  a  Hessian  officer,  who  joined 
to  his  military  functions  the  duties  of  local  Governor, — col- 
lecting the  revenues  upon  all  merchandizes  that  passed 
either  way,  or  altogether  intercepting  any  goods  or  com- 
modities that  ought  not  to  pass.  He  was  particularly  cau- 
tious about  allowing  any  of  the  Indian  trade  upon  the 
Lakes  to  pass  down  by  way  of  the  Mohawk  to  an  Ameri- 
can market,  lest  the  channel  of  trade  once  begun,  should 
wear  for  itself  a  passage  beyond  control.  In  short,  he  was 
to  guard  with  vigilance  this  back-door  of  Canada,  and 
prevent  Frenchmen  from  entering  the  country  under  any 
pretext;  albeit  even  this  faithful  subject  of  the  Crown  was 
not  wholly  free  from  infirmities,  and  goods  would  slip  past 
the  fort  while  his  back  was  turned,  and  his  attention  en- 
gaged by  a  keg  of  rum. 


OSWEGO  IN  179S. 


M8S 


The  west  side  of  the  river  was  an  open  waste,  then 
wholly  uninhabited,  with  a  few  old  deserted  buildings,  the 
traces  of  barracks  for  troops,  and  premises  that  had  been 
used  in  the  Indian  trade.  The  timber  had  been  all  cut 
away,  for  a  considerable  distance  around,  but  further  in- 
land the  primeval  forests  stretched  over  the  country  till 
broken  by  the  beginnings  of  settlement  along  the  Upper 
Mohawk,  or  here  and  there  at  remote  intervals  along  the 
route  to  the  Geresee. 

Oswego  was  then  deemed  the  most  dreary  and  f<  rsaken 
spot  under  the  control  of  British  troops  in  Canada,  and 
desertions  were  constantly  occurring  in  spite  of  the  utmost 
vigilance  of  faithful  oflBcers.  When  once  fairly  out  of 
sight  in  the  woods,  the  way  was  clear  to  any  American 
settlement  they  might  have  the  good  luck  to  reach,  and 
when  once  there  their  recovery  was  altogether  out  of  the 
question. 

Anticipating  the  difficulties  that  might  await  them  at  this 
point,  our  Frenchman  had  hired  the  services  of  Major  De- 
Zeng,  then  of  the  Little  Falls  where  he  was  concerned  in 
the  lock  improvements  then  under  construction  in  the  Mo- 
hawk. They  had  been  overreached  so  often,  since  their  re- 
cent arrival,  that  they  had  come  to  distrust  everybody ;  in 
short,  they  say  in  their  Journal,  that  finding  the  whole 
country  given  to  keen  bargains  at  the  expense  of  foreigners, 
they  had  resolved  to  entrust  the  direction  of  their  journey 
to  some  person  who  was  acquainted  with  the  usages  of  the 
country,  as  it  would  be  better  to  be  cheated  by  one  man 

than  by  everybody.    They  therefore  employed  Mr.  D — 
18 


$y:€ 


OSWEOO  IN  179S. 


t 


il 


partly  becanse  he  was  a  fellow-countryman  of  the  "Gov- 
ernor" of  Oswego,  and  left  all  the  details  to  his  care.  Ac- 
cordingly, as  they  approached  Oswego,  he  left  his  party  at 
the  boat,  and  went  alone  into  the  Fort.  In  a  little  time  he 
returned,  and  hastily  informed  them  that  in  order  to  allay 
suspicions,  he  had  represented  the  party  as  consisting  of  a 
French  gentleman  I  oking  for  lands  that  he  wished  to  pur- 
chase south  cf  the  St.  Lawrence, in  the  State  of  New  York, 
with  his  secretary  and  servant. 

This  was  not  exactly  in  accordance  with  their  ideas,  but 
there  was  no  time  to  be  lost  on  etiquette,  and  accordingly 
it  was  arranged  that  Pharoux  should  act  the  part  of  "gentle- 
man," Desjardins  as  "servant"  and  Brunei  as  "secretary." 
The  Governor  had  started  even  with  D.  ,but  his  dignity  would 
allow  no  hasty  steps  in  the  presence  of  his  troops,  and  it 
was  some  moments  before  this  majestic  personage  arrived. 
He  sternly  demanded  their  business,  asked  them  how  they 
dared,  being  Frenchmen,  to  approach  Canada  in  this  man- 
ner, and  said  he  could  hardly  restrain  himself  from  sending 
them  all  in  irons  to  Quebec.  At  length  he  so  far  yielded 
to  the  intercessions  of  Mr.  D.  that  he  consented  to  allow  the 
gentleman  and  his  servant  to  proceed  on  their  journey,  but 
only  upon  condition  that  the  secretary  should  remain  as  a 
hostage  for  their  good  behavior  and  timely  return. 

To  this  Brunei  at  once  consented,  but  only  upon  condi- 
tion that  he  should  be  lodged  in  the  Fort.  This  was 
promptly  refused — for  a  Frenchman  might  do  any  amount 
of  injury  if  allowed  among  soldiers.  He  might  go  over  to 
the  west  side,  and  occupy  any  of  the  deserted  buildings, 
and  if  in  want  of  anything,  by  firing  a  gun,  he  could  call  a 


C8WE00  IN  1793. 


S87 


a 


nt 
to 

Ua 


f 


boat  over  to  supply  him — or  he  might  go  back  to  Oswego 
Falls,  and  there  remain  with  the  only  family  at  that  place, 
until  the  return.  Brunei  did  not  promise  to  accept  either 
of  these  alternatives.  The  Governor  having  displayed 
himself,  strutted  slowly  back  into  his  Fort,  while  the  trav- 
ellers pitched  their  tent,  and  counseled  together  upon  the 
situation. 

A  pass  was  procured  for  a  boat,  with  two  Frenchmen 
and  four  Americans,  and  Brunei,  intent  upon  seeing  for 
himself  the  Land  of  Promise,  crept  under  the  tarpaulin. 
The  boat  was  hailed,  the  pass  examined,  men  counted,  and 
being  found  all  right,  they  proceeded  on  the  voyage.  They 
spent  a  fortnight  in  exploratio::.s,  and  returned  the  way 
they  came.  But  it  would  not  do  for  the  hostage  to  appear 
in  their  company ;  so  as  the  boat  came  within  sight  of  the 
Fort,  Brunei  was  set  on  shore  with  a  blanket  and  some 
provisions,  intending  to  strike  diagonally  across  to  Oswego 
Falls,  and  there  await  their  arrival.  Fearing  that  the  land- 
ing would  be  noticed,  the  other  two  Frenchmen  continued 
on  shore,  and  when  met  by  an  officer,  they  assigned  as  a 
reason,  that  they  had  landed  to  warm  themselves  by  walk- 
ing, as  the  weather  was  very  cold. 

On  coming  into  the  Governor's  presence,  he  at  once  in- 
formed them  that  the  hostage  had  deserted  the  same  day 
that  they  left,  and  had  gone  back  to  Albany.  He  was 
bound  to  notice  this  breach  of  trust,  and  must  detain  them 
as  prisoners;  but  they  had  no  great  difficulty  in  appeasing 
his  resentment  with  a  present  of  rum,  which  was  duly 
tasted  before  acceptance. 

As  for  Brunei,  he  had  scarcely  got  into  f..e  woods,  be- 


' 


988     POETICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  OSWEGO. 


fore  he  met  some  people  from  the  Fort  in  quest  of  deserters. 
He  at  once  guessed  their  object,  artfully  interested  himself 
in  their  business, — doubtless  by  sending  them  off  in  anoth- 
er direction,  "  where  he  had  a  little  while  before  seen  some 
men  answering  to  their  description,"  and  without  further 
adventure  arrived  at  his  destination.  But  his  anxious  com- 
panions not  finding  him  at  the  river  bank  as  expected,  set 
out  to  find  him, — got  lost  in  the  woods,  and  finally  got 
back  half-starved,  and  almost  chilled  to  death  from  being 
out  without  blankets  or  fire,  through  a  cold,  frosty  night 
in  October. 


I 


f 


► 


u  •' 


Wilson's  Poetical  Description  of  Oswego. — (1804.) 

In  the  Autumn  of  1804,  Alexander  Wilson,  the  illustrious 
Ornithologist,  made  a  pedestrian  journey  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Oswego,  with  two  companions,  and  from  thence  he 
proceeded  by  water  to  Niagara.  He  published  some  time 
after  a  narrative  of  this  expedition  in  a  poem  entitled  "  The 
Foresters, "  a  work  of  considerable  interest  from  the  facts 
in  local  history  that  it  contains.  In  some  places  it  pre- 
sents passages  of  rare  poetic  beauty.  His  description  of 
Oswego  gives  ample  proof  of  his  talent  at  the  ludicrous: 

Mark  yon  bleak  hill,  where  rolling  billows  break, 

Just  where  the  River  joins  the  spacious  Lake. 

High  on  its  brow,  deserted  and  forlorn, 

Its  bastions  levelled  and  its  buildings  torn, 

Stands  Fort  Oswego,  where  the  winds  that  blow, 

Howl  to  the  restless  surge  that  groans  below  ; 

There  the  lone  sentrv  walked  his  round,  or  stood, 

To  view  the  Sea-fowl  coursing  o'er  the  flood ; 

'Midst  night's  deep  glooms  shrank  at  the  panther's  howl. 

And  heard  a  foe  in  every  whooping  owl. 

Blest  time  for  soldiers,  times,  alas  not  near. 

When  foes  like  these  are  all  they  have  to  fear ; 

When  man  to  man  will  mutual  Justice  yield. 

And  wolves  and  panthers  only  stain  the  field. 


MARMIER8  VOYAGE  ON  THE  LAKE.       289 


IS 

1- 
e 


.8 


Those  stragKling  huta  that  on  the  left  appear, 
Where  boata  and  ships  their  crowded  inaats  uprear, 
Where  fence,  or  Held,  or  cultured  garden  green , 
Or  blessed  plough,  or  spade  were  never  seen, 
Is  Old  Oswego ;  once  renowned  in  trade. 
Where  numerous  tribes  their  annual  visits  paid, 
From  distant  wilds,  the  Beavers  rich  retreat. 
For  one  whole  moon  they  tru<Jged  with  weary  feet , 
Piled  their  rich  furs  within  the  crowded  store, 
Replaced  their  packs  and  plodded  back  for  more. 
But  time  and  war  have  banished  all  their  trains, 
And  nought  but  potash,  salt  and  rum  remains. 
The  boisterous  boatman,  drunk  but  twice  a  day. 
Begs  of  the  landlord  ;  but  forgets  to  pay  ; 
Pledges  his  salt,  a  cask  for  every  quart, 
Pleased  thus  for  poison  with  his  pay  to  part. 
From  morn  to  night  here  noise  and  riot  reign  ; 
From  night  to  morn  'tis  noise  and  roar  again. 

MABMIER'B     account     of     KINGSTON,     AND     THE     VOYAGE 
FROM   THENCE  TO  ROCHESTER. 

"The  Lake  of  the  Thousand  Isles,  terminates  at  the  road 
of  Kingston.  We  formerly  had  a  fort  at  this  place,  which 
at  first  bore  the  Indian  name  of  Cataraqui,  and  afterwards 
that  of  one  of  our  Governors — Frontenac. 

"The  English,  who  never  do  anything  by  halves,  have 
here  erected  a  large  citadel  mountea  with  cannon  and  hold 
it  by  two  regiments.  At  the  foot  of  this  citadel  the  City  of 
Kingston  is  spread  out,  including  at  the  present  time,  some 
fifteen  thousand  inhabitants.  But  this  is,  to  say  the  least,  a 
sad  city,  and  seemed  to  mourn  in  torpid  silence  since  the 
seat  of  government  has  been  taken  away.  It  has,  in  fact, 
but  one  establishment  that  interested  me,  and  that  was  its 
penitentiary  ;  but  notwithstanding  my  own  efforts,  and 
those  of  an  obliging  Scotchman,  to  whom  I  was  recom- 
mended, I  could  not  gain  admission.  A  special  pass  from 
one  of  the  Board  of  Overseers,  is  needed  to  open  the  iron 
gates,  and  every  one  of  this  Board  was  absent. 

"After  wandering  till  weary  in  the  wide,  deserted  streets, 
where  we  pass  without  intermediate  changes,from  immense 
brick  buildings  to  miserable  wooden  shops,  and  after  pass- 
ing several  times  by  a  colossal  edifice,  which  from  a  dis- 
tance one  would  take  for  a  palace,  but  which  is  only  a 
market,  I  could  find  no  other  satisfaction  than  to  rest  like 
a  tired  sea-gull  on  the  river  shore,  to  gaze  upon  the  bay,  the 
fortress  and  Wolfe  Island,  that  lies  opposite  the  town,  wait- 
ing for  the  'Lady  of  the  Lake,'  that  was  to  convey  me  t© 
Rochester. 


$90      MARMIER8  VOYAGE  ON  THE  LAKE. 


"The  good  Dame  at  length  came  to  receive  me,  but  I  would 
wish  for  the  honor  of  Scotland,  and  its  worthy  poet,  Wal- 
ter Scott,  that  they  would  fake  off  her  name,  because  she 
sings  not  a  ballad,  and  treats  her  guests  very  badly.  Her 
onlv  anxiety  is  to  crowd  her  decks  with  sacks  and  boxes 
and  barrels  of  merchandize;  but  as  for  the  travellers,  who 
might  be  attracted  by  the  name  to  step  aboard,  the  accom- 
modations are  nothing  but  mockery.  She  betrays  them  by 
giving  'state  rooms,'  that  would  serve  for  ice  houses,  and 
feeds  them  with  rancid  butter  and  mouldy  bread.  The 
Canadian  boats  bear  less  poetic  names,  but  are  more  hos- 
pitable. 

"I  was  obliged  from  physical  discomfort  to  go  out  from 
the  long  gloomy  cell  which  they  call  the  saloon,  to  warm 
my  feet  by  walking  upon  deck,  where  I  had  at  least  a  long 
opportunity  of  looking  upon  the  Lake  which  pours  its 
waters  into  the  St.  Lawrence.  But  on  one  side,  I  could 
see  only  the  blue  line  of  the  New  York  shore,  and  on  the 
other,  an  open  sea  without  limit.  Fortunately  the  Lake 
was  calm;  but  had  it  been  stormy,  I  would  certainly  have 
been  inwardly  moved  as  in  La  Manckt— which.  I  cannot  now 
even  think  of,  without  e-motion. 

"After  sundry  commercial  landings,  including  one  of  sev- 
eral hours  at  the  nascent  and  already  bold  mercantile  City 
of  Oswego,  we  entered  towards  evening  the  Genesee  River, 
which  gracefully  winds  between  hi^h  parallel  and  wooded 
banks  up  to  the  foot  of  the  mountam,  where  two  thunder- 
ing cascades  pour  down  from  the  country  above. 

"It  is  only  forty  years  ago  that  anEnglishmin  passed  this 
way,  along  the  tnen  desert  banks  of  the  Genesee;  but 
would  not  allow  himself  to  be  seduced,  as  many  of  his 
countrymen  had  been,  into  either  the  pleasure  of  admiring 
it,  nor  the  innocent  temptation  of  sketching  it  in  his  album, 
or  even  of  singing  its  charms  in  a  sonnet.  He  was  one  of 
the  positive  kind  of  men,  who  would  say  that  these  falls 
were  not  put  there  for  the  barren  satisfaction  of  artists  and 
of  poets,  but  for  the  keen  operation  of  speculators ;  so  he 
made  him  a  house  to  live  in,  and  close  by  the  river  bank 
he  built  a  mill. 

"On  the  spot  where  this  solitary  dwelling  stood,  the  long 
wide  streets  of  the  city  of  Rochester  now  run — one  of  those 
rising  cities  which  in  America  spring  up  like  mushrooms 


! 


I 


ACCOUNT  OF  ROCHESTEB. 


189X 


in  the  woods,  and  grow  in  a  few  years  like  the  giant  of  a 
hundred  arms.  In  1825,  it  had  but  five  thousand  inhabl* 
tants;  now,  thanks  to  the  Erie  canal  which  here  passes, 
and  to  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  Genesee 
Valley — one  or  the  richest  districts  in  the  United  States,  it 
has  grown  to  have  a  population  of  40,000  souls.  ^ 

As  for  the  cascades  which  the  keen  Englishman  meas- 
ured, they  are  now  used  in  driving  machinery  and  mill 
wheels;  and  the  Americans,  who  figure  upon  everything, 
estimate  this  water  power  as  equal  to  that  of  nineteen  hun- 
dred machines  of  a  hundred  horse-power  each — and  they 
are  not,  I  assure  you,  the  people  to  let  the  least  of  these 
stand  idle.  Each  cascade  has  along  its  sides  a  double  row 
of  industrial  establishments — every  rill  of  water  is  turned 
to  account,  and  if,  on  the  line  that  nature  has  traced,  thev 
cannot  otherwise  master  its  use,  they  turn  it  into  the  canal. 
There  were,  indeed,  the  most  primitive  of  beauties  in  this 
romantic  spot — but  this  matters  not,  provided  that  a  respec- 
table company  has  capital  to  invest  in  the  opening  of  a 
sluice,  or  in  the  building  of  an  establishment  to  run  by 
water  power,  and  that  will  every  morning  turn  upon  the 
Rochester  market  so  many  barrels  of  flour,  or  so  many 
kilograms  of  woolen  yarn.  In  short,  I  see  the  day  ap- 
proaching when  the  marvelous  works  of  God  shall  disap- 
pear before  the  labors  of  man ;  when  the  world  will  come 
to  loose  the  last  shred  of  its  virgin  rr  he,  and  when  this 
mythological  earth  of  the  ancients — the  jligious  earth  of 
the  middle  ages,  shall  be  uothing  but  a  trading  world — an 
immense  bazaar — and  an  enormous  workshop. 

'•At  Rochester  I  found  the  Americans  just  as  I  had  left 
them  six  weeks  ago.  Time  had  changed  nothing;  and  I 
come  to  believe  that  they  are  quite  mcorrigible.  They 
had  the  same  morose  features  and  were  as  rude  and  dirty 
as  ever." 


THE  NAMES  OF  ISLANDS. 

In  Owen's  Chart  of  1818,  and  in  the  recent  elaborate 
Charts  published  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
many  of  the  Islands  are  named,  and  in  the  following  cases 
the    names    agree,    viz:    Arabella,    Beck  with,    Calumet, 

(1)  The  population  of  Rochester  in  1875  was  81,722. 


NAMES  OF  THE  ISLANDS. 


{ 


'<} 


CarletoD,  Cedar,  Crawford  (also,  on  U.  S.  Maps  called 
Bluff  I.); — Francis  (also,  on  U.  8.  Maps  called  Hickory  /.); 
— Qarden,  Gates,  Hill,  Howe,  Murray,  O'Neill,  Packen- 
ham,  Picton,  Robinsons,  Spectacle,  Split-Log,  Stuart,  Tar, 
"Wellesley,  and  Wolfe,  (called  also  Long  I.  on  U.  S.  Maps, 
and  "formerly  Orand,  or  Long  I."  on  Owen's  Chart). 

The  following  list  contains  the  names  that  differ,  on  the 
two  series  of  Charts  above  mentioned.  The  names  are  ar- 
ranged alphabetically  as  given  on  the  United  States  Charts, 
and  the  corresponding  names  on  Owen's  Charts  are  in 
parenthesis : 

Bluff  (Yeo);- Boss  Dick  (Yorke) ;— Buck's  (Kurd);— Ce- 
dar (John  and  Bradt) ;— Cherry  (Goldbourne); — Chinmey 
(Bridge) ; — Chub  (Combemere) ; — Corn  (Broughton) ; — Corn 
(Croker); — Deer  (Catline); — Deer  (Owen); — Deshler  (Barra- 
couta) ; — Douglass  (Fitzwilliam) ; — Fleet  (Downie) ; — Grape 
(Rose); — Grenadier  (Barthust); — Grindstone  (Gore); — Hart 
Nancy);  — Hog  (Melville);  —  Hemlock  (Canning);  —  Hog 
(Warrenden) ;  —  Hooper  (McMahon) ;  —  Ironsides  (Liver- 
pool);— Juts  (Cornelia); — Leek  (Thwartway); — Linda  (Brit- 
ton's); — Little  (Hamilton); — McDonald's  (Prince  Regent); 
— Maple  (Cranfleld);  —  Marvins  (Porter); — Milton's  (Ama- 
zon);—Mink  (Fisher);— Mud  (Bayfield) ;— Oak  (Tecumseth); 
— Pear  (Cook); — Pine  (Water); — Proctor  (Henderson); — 
Pullman's  (Somerset,  etc.); — Querry  (Hope); — Rabbit  (Nor- 
ton)— Resort  (Green); — Round  (Barrows); — Scow  (Kate); — 
Shantee  (Bloomfleld);  —  Simcoe  (Gage;  formerly  /.  au 
F(yret)\  —  Sims  (Robert);  —  Sport  (Amelia);  —  Stave  (Sir 
James); — Steamboat  (Flamer); — Sugar  (Mulcaster)  —  Sum- 


I 


NAMES  OF  THE  ISLANDS. 


ess 


I 


merland  (Harris) ;— Tent  (Peel);  — Tidd's  (Stone);  — Van 
Buren  (Sydenham) : — Wallace  (Goodman) ;— Walton  (Vidal) ; 
— Washington  (Barnard). 

On  the  Maps  of  the  Boundary  Survey,  all  of  the  islands 
not  named  are  numbered,  and  their  place  in  reference  to 
the  Line  is  specified.  The  early  maps  mention  but  a  few 
of  the  Islands  by  name. 

There  has  been  some  discussion  as  to  the  name  Wells  or 
Wellealey,  as  applied  to  the  principal  one  of  the  Islands 
upon  which  Parks  have  been  laid  out.  As  to  priority,  the 
first  of  these  names,  was  unquestionably  first  used  and  it  is 
so  known  upon  Lay's  State  Map  of  1817,  which  is  the  ear- 
liest date  in  which  we  have  found  the  nam3  used;  but  since 
it  has  been  officially  recognized  under  the  name  of  Wellea- 
ley, in  the  Charts  of  both  Governments,  it  would  appear 
that  this  latter  name  should  be  considered  as  the  proper 
one.  We  have  not  met  with  an  account  of  the  particular 
incidents  attending  the  naming  of  this  Island,  which  was 
propably  done  during  Captain  Owen's  Survey,  at  some 
time  before  1818,  and  not  unlikely  soon  after  Sir  Arthur 
Wellealey, — who  had  already  earned  a  high  reputation  by 
his  services  in  India,  and  in  the  Peninsular  war — achieved 
his  crowning  honors  in  the  Battle  of  Waterloo.  We  may 
well  understand  how  a  loyal  British  officer,  as  he  was  map- 
ping this  charming  region,  would  improve  his  opportunity 
for  inscribing  upon  one  of  its  fairest  islands  the  name  that 
England  was  then  seeking  most  to  honor  in  her  Roll  of 
Fame,  and  that  having  christened  the  Island  itself,  after 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  he  should  apply  to  its  bays  and 


294 


NAMES  OF  THE  ISLANDS. 


•H 


-it 

n 


1 1 


head-lands,  the  names  of  the  battle-fl'^lds  upon  which  this 
distinction  was  acliieved. 

The  names  lie  thus  applied,  were  as  follows  : 

Well-  sley  Island,  the  name  given  to  whole  Island. 

Lake  Waterloo,  the  interior  lake,  through  the  ea^  '^e'*n  part 
of  which  the  National  Boundary  runs,  and  sometimes  call- 
ed the  "Za^  <>/ <A<? /stouc?*. " 

Talavera  Head,  the  headland  upon  which  the  Thousand 
Island  Park  is  laid  out. 

Buzacoe  Head,  the  adjoining  promontory,  separated  ."rom 
Murray  Island  by  a  narrow  Strait. 

Arthur  Bay,  sometimes  known  as  Eel  Bay. 

Opoiio  Head,  the  Northwectern  Point  of  the  Island. 

Salamanca  Point,  the  Cape  running  into  the  west  end  of 
Lake  Waterloo. 

Toulouse  Point,  at  the  north  entrance  of  the  Strait  be- 
tween Hill,  or  Lame  Island^  and  Wellesley  Island,  known 
upon  Owen's  Chart  as  the  "Black  Snake  Passage,"  and 
formerly  closed  by  Owen's  dam. 

Badajos  Head,  at  the  sounh  entrance  of  the  above  Strait, 
where  it  enters  Lake  Waterloo. 

Point  Victoria,  the  lower  point  of  thj  Island,  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  the  Westminster  Park  Association. 

By  a  Proclamation  dated  July  16,  1792,  establishing 
Counties  and  Townships  in  Upper  Canada,  the  following 
English  names  were  applied  to  those  formerly  known  by 
others  of  French  origin,  viz :  AmJierat  Island,  in  place  of 
"TontV;— Gage  L,  in  place  of  "He  au  FoTH";—Howe  /., 
in  place  of  "He  au  Couchois,"  and  Wolfe  I,  in  place  of 
^'Grand  Isle." 


J 


I 

J 


INDEX. 


Ackland,  Dr 180 

Admiralty  Charts  of  St.  Law- 
rence  250 

Alarms  in  1812 63 

A  la  Claire  Fontaine, 

words  of 212 

music  of 213 

Albany,  Congress  of  1759  at..  33 

Alexandria,  named 62 

(im826) 144 

Hotels  at ,..201 

Algonquin  Indians 9 

Allen  William 281 

Allouez  Father 22 

Alnwick,  Indians  at 173 

Ameri  can  Light  Honses 252 

Amherst,  Lord 18 

'*        expedition  of 38 

"        approach   of     re- 

Jorted 45 
.  J 161 

Antigua  captured  by  De  la 

Barre 25 

Apostrophe  to  Lake  Ontario  277 

Arabian,  steamer 175 

Archives  of  Dominion  Gov't  5<> 
Armorer  sent  to  Carleton  I..  53 

Argyll,  Duke  of 305 

Arsenals  plundered 85 

Arthur  Gov.,  at  Brockville..  95 

Aspfvessel) 82 

Aurora  Borealia 270,  271 

Aurora  Orientalis 271 

Au  Sables,  (Sandy  Creek)--..  18 

Autumnal  leafage i70 

'*        scenery  of  the  St. 

Lawrence 270 

Backus,  Lieut.  Colonel 83 

Baker,  Captain..  115 

Baptism  at  Petit  Detroit 105 

Baptists,  (see  Round  Island 

Park) 334 

Barclay  Andrew,  boundary 

com'r 247 

Barthurst   Earl  of,  letter 

from 78 


Bartlett's  Point,  action  at.. .  76 

Parkat 235 

Bartram  John,  at  Oswego.- -278 
Basin  Harbor,  General  Wilk- 
inson at 75 

Basle,  proposed  city  of 60 

Bateaux  British,  captured...  71 

described 134 

*'       f  I  eight  leceived  by 
at  Carleton  Island..  53 

Battle-field,  ancient 10 

Bayfield  Charts 261 

Bay  of  Quinte,  Indians  set- 
tle on 172 

"  Mr.  Long  at -.109 

Bay  State,  (steamer) 256 

Pear-y<?-fl 132 

Bears,  ladian  superstitions 

concerning 124 

Beaverton,  on  site  of  Castor- 

ville 60 

Belle-Garde,  Priest  at  La  Pre- 
sentation  48 

Belleville,  Indians  settle  near  172 
Princeof  Wales  did 

not  land  at 182 

Belts  given  at  Indian  council  2'(i 
Bertrund  M.,  at  Fort  Levis..  44 

Bethune,  Rev.  G.  W., 203 

Betton  David,  Naval  officer  at 

Carleton  Island HO 

Bigsby,  J.  J.,  quoted 219 

Bird  Miss 175 

Black  Lake,  Indian  paintings 

near 19 

Black  River,  expedition  by 

way  of 52 

Black  River  Limestone 238 

Black  Snake,  gun-boat  cap- 
tured  78 

Blair  Frank 208 

Blaney  Captain 141 

Bliss  Philip  P.,  reference  to.  .924 

Block  houses 146 

'*  at  Ganono(ju«?..  81 

*'  on  Bridge  Isle..  81 


£96 


INDEX. 


il 


h/ 


Bluff  Island  mentioned 80 

Boat  songs 209 

**      J.  8.  Day's  remarks 
upon 215 

"       verses  In    English 

concerning 220 

Tom  Moore's 221 

"      described  by  J.  M. 

Duncan 136 

Bone-pits,  ancient 10 

Bonny  castle,  Sir  R.H..--87,  205 
Boucnette  surveys  Toronto 

in  1793 277 

Boundary  between  Algoquins 

and  Iroquois 12 

**  as  desired  by  Lt. 

Gov.  Simcoe 246 

lines 245 

Bourlamaque,  Oeneral  at  Os- 
wego  36 

Braddock's  army,  defeat  of.  35 
BradstreetCol.John, destroy  8 

Fort  Frontenac 38 

Brady,  Col.  proposes  a  mon- 

ment  at  Sackets  Harbor.  83 
Bridge  Island,  block    house 

on 80    149 

British  Surveys  of  Lakes250  251 
Brock ville  as    described  by 

Lieut.  De  Roo8.-143 
*•  Cannon  seized  at  95 

"  Indian  Paintings 

near 18 

•'  noticed    by    Dr. 

Kohl 168 

**  reception  of 

Prince  of  Wales.  182 

"  rocksat 133 

'*  settlement  of. ...143 

Brown,  Gen.  success  of 70 

•'        •'     at  French  Creek  76 
Brown's  Point  Light  House. 355 

Bruce ,  Ma  j  or-General 1 80 

Brunei,  M.  I.  at  Oswego 283 

"       in  Jefferson  Co.  61      6:4 
Brymner  D.,  report  on  offi- 
cial papers 50 

Buck  Island  mentioned 13 

Buckingham,  James  Silk — 150 

Burbank,  Lieut 70, 71 

Burke's  Essay  on  the  Sublime 

and  Beautiful 179 

Burlesque   of  "A  la  Claire 

Fontaine" 211 

Burning  Forest  described...  170 
Burning  of  steamer  Peel —  87 
Burnt  Uland  Light-House... 255 


Cabet,  M.,  allusion  to 160 

Calclferous  Sandstone 237 

Caldwell  (vessel) 64 

Calumet,  Pipe  of  Peace 

26,  27,28,29,30 

Calypso's  Isle,  allusion  to — 201 
Camp      Elishii,      purchases 

American  Islands 55 

Campaign  of  1813 69 

Campbell,  John  P.,  geological 

remarks 24t 

Campbell,? 112 

Comp-flres  seen   among  the 

Thousand  Islands 46 

Canada,  autumnal  hues  in.. 270 
"      Seat  of  Government 

of 96 

Canadian  Boat  Songs — 158,209 
Islands,  title  of. ...173 
Canal  Surveys  by  Brunei —  62 
Cannifl,  Dr.  Account  of  Carle- 
ton  Island  by 282 

Cannon  captured  from  Brad- 
dock 36 

"      seized  at  Brock  ville.  95 

Cape  Vincent,  Militia  at 86 

named 62 

Carleton  Island  mentioned..  12 
"  "     captured  June 

26,  1812 64 

"      Mr  I.ong  at.. 108 
"  "      his  account  of  110 

"      P.     Campbell 

at 116 

*'  "      notice    of  by 

La     Rocefou- 
cauld-Llan- 

court 119 

"  **      claimed  as  in 

Canada 247 

"  "      Lake    Survey 

westward  f  rom250 
'*          "      as  a  Lumber- 
ing Station... 258 
"       additional 
facts  concern- 
ing  259 

"  •'       evacuated — 259 

"  '*      cannon       re- 

moved from.. 259 
260,  261 . 
"  "      gun  carriages 

burned... m  261 
"         *'      Cannitf's     ac- 
count of 26i8 

Caroline  Steamer  burned —  84 
Carleton,  Sir  Guy 49,50 


INDEX, 


X97 


Carleton,  Sir  Guy,  historic  U 

sketch  of....  49 
Gartnaffe.    Washlngfton   Irv- 
ing at 164 

Cartier  Jacques 19 

Oartier  M.  —  incident  relat- 

inar  to ail 

CartwrlgrhtR.,  letter  to 865 

Oastorland  Colony 59  to  63 

Seal 51 

' '         agents  at  Oswego  283 
Csstorvllle,  proposed  City  of  60 
"          named  on  a  Gov- 
ernment Map 62 

Oataroqui  ^variously  spelled) 

...99,106,  108,109,289 
Gatbcarts'  Redoubt,  Kingston 

Harbor 251 

Caves  in  Black  River  Lime- 
stone  238 

Cedar    Island,    fortification 

upon 251 

Cedar  Rapids,  disastrous  pas- 
sage of 44 

Celerons    brothers    at    Fort 

Levis 45 

Cemetery  monuments  quar- 
ried  237 

Chambers  William 154 

Champlain  Samuel,  10,  20. ...169 

Charlevoix  Father 99 

11, 13,  19,  25. 
"       remarks  on  changes 

of  Lake  level 244 

Charlotte  (steamer) 137 

Charlotte  of  Oswego,  (vessel)  92 
Charlotte  of  Toronto,  (vessel)  92 
Charts  of  Lakes,  by  Mr.  Niff  .250 
"     of  St  Lawrence  Engi- 
neers  252 

Chassanis,  Pierre,  scheme  of.  60 

Chaumont  Baj'  named ..  ^ 62 

Chauucey,  Commodore  fleet 
of  before  Kingston 

Harbor 67 

"        mentioned 76 

Chevelure,  Point  de  la 23 

Chimney  or  Bridge  Island- 
block  house  on 81 

Chimney  Island   (below  Os- 

wegatchie) 40 

Chimney  sweep's  accounts..  69 

Chippewa  (vessel) 83 

Chippewas,  the  Mississaguas, 

a  branch  of 171,172 

Christie,  account  of   Cran- 
berry Creek  affair  by —  73 


Chrysler's  Farm,  battle  of...  77 

Cities,  rapid  growth  of 188 

Clark  James 288 

Clark  J.  V.  H.,  Legend  of....  14 
Hiawatha,a8  written  by  13 
Clarke,  Gov.,  Letter  to  Gov. 

Simcoe 280 

Clayton,  ancient  boundary  at  12 
*'        village    and    town 

named 50 

"         gathering  of  "Pat- 
riots" at 86 

"         militia  at 86 

"         at  present  time 201 

'*        as  a  lumbering  sta- 
tion..  258 

Clunes,  James,  at^Carleton  I.  69 

Colborn,  Sir  John 173 

Colborne  Island 234 

Collins  John,  survey  by 244 

Golden,  cited 11,13,28 

Cole  Shoal  Light  House 254 

Coloring  of   the    autumnal 

forest 270 

Colville,  (vessel) 116 

Comb  George 151 

Communistic    ideas,    refer- 
ence to 160 

Oampagne  de  New  York 81 

Comstock,  General  C.  B.,  Lake 
surveys  under  direction 

of 262 

Conflance  (vessel) 88 

Confidence-man  of  the  Revo- 
lution  68 

Congress  of  English  Colonies 

at  Albany  in  1754 83 

Conquest  (vessel) 86, 81,  82 

Constable  William,  land  pro- 
prietor   80 

Corlaer,  Areudt,  name  applied 

to  Ergrlish  Governors —  29 
Cornelia,    former    name   of 

Clayton 50 

Corner   stone   of    Picquet's 

Mission 36 

Corporators  of  Thousand  Is- 
land Park 230 

"        of  Westmister  Park232 
of  Round  Island  P'k234 

Cooper,  J.  Fennimore 101 

•'Station  Island,"  de- 
scribed by 101 

"     Historycited 86 

"     opinion  of  affairs  be- 
fore Kingston 86 

Cooper,  Willi&m 186 


298 


INDEX. 


\^\^ 


i      , 


ti 


Copenhagen,  source  of  Sandy 

Creek  near 18 

Copper  of  Lake  Superior 129 

Cornwallis,  Kinahan 182 

Covington,  Gen.  L 83 

Cran'oerry  Creek,  affair  of.. 

70,71,  T2 

"              "    Canadian  ac- 
count of 73 

Creation  of  the  Human  race.  17 
Cremazie,  J.  O.,  Mllle  lies  of  .225 

Crespel,  Father  Emanuel 22 

Cross,  Lieut.  T.,  letter  from. 266 
Ci-osB  Lake,  Hiawatha  resides 

at 16 

Cross-over-Island  Light 263 

Crown  Point,  French  Mission 

near 23 

"  reduced 38 

Currency,  rates  of 54 

Cuyahoga  proposed  as  a  boun- 
dary  246 

Darby,  William 33 

Day,  Samuel  Philips,  remarks 
concerning  boat  song — 215 

Dayan,  Rev.J.F 202-229 

De  Courcelle,  expedition  of..  20 
Dedication  of  Thousand  Isl- 
and Park 231 

Deer  Island 49-51 

Deer  among  the  Islands 189 

"    chase 146 

Defensive  works  in  Jefferson 

and  St.  Lawrence  Co.'s..  9 
Dehatkatons  (Abram  La  Fort)  13 
De  la  Barre.  expedition  of...  26 

De  la  Potherie,  cited 11-13 

De  la  Salle 278 

De  Meules,  cited 25 

DeNonville,  expedition  of . .  31 

superseded 32 

DePIairne,  Penet&Co 56 

DePoillyat  Fort  Levis 45 

DeRoos,  Hon.  F.  F 142 

Des  Androlns,  M.,    at   Fort 

Levis 44 

Descriptions  by  Travel  lers...  99 
Desjardins,  Simon,  agent  for 

Castorland..  61 
at  Oswego.. 284 
De  Tocqueville's  Democracy 

in  America 161 

De  Tracy,  expedition  of 20 

Dickens,  Charles 152 

Dimock,  Captain 70-72 

Districts,  Light-House 252 

Dix,  Lieut.  Colonel 84 


Dixon,  Rev.  James 166 

Dickson,  Capt  Sam'1-70,72,79,80 

Dog  wounds  an  Indian 112 

Dolphin  (steamer) 150 

Dominion    Light-House  sys- 
tem  264 

Dorchester,  Lord 119 

Dream  of  a  gift  of  land 57 

"      of  Sir  Wm.  Johnson..  107 

"     ofTomGarnet 69 

Drift  ridges 241 

Drift  formation 239 

Duck  Island 168 

Duke  of  Argyll,  description 

by 206 

Duke  of  Gloucester,  (vessel) 

..-.64,65,66,81,82 
"     Rochefoucauld,   Lian- 

court 117 

Duncan,  John  M 184 

Dundas,  Rt.Hon.  H.,  map  sent 

to 247 

Durham  boats  described 184 

Dykes  in  trap  rock 336 

Eagle  Band  of  Chippeways..l72 
Earl  of  Moira,  (vessel)-. 64,  65, 

66,72,81,88 

Earthworks  in  Jefferson  and 

St.  Lawrence  Co.'s 9-10 

Eden,  Cremazie's  poetic  allu- 
sion to 326 

Eel  Bay,  glacial  action  shown 

at 240 

Elizabeth   Township,    camp 

ground  in.    285 

Ellioijurgh,  Sandy  Creek  in..  18 
Emtargo,  smuggling  in  time 

of 69 

,"       Carleton  Island,  in 

connection  with. 266 

Embryology  of  cities 163 

Engineers  of    War  Depart- 
ment surveys  by 261 

Englehurst,  Mr 181 

Bntick  cited 37 

Escourt,  Lt.  Col.  J.  B.  B 249 

Etcat-a-ra-ga-re-ne 18 

European  discovery  and  ex- 
plorations   19 

Fair  American,  (vessel) 82 

Fallen  Fort 12 

Fenelon,  Father,  in  Canada.202 

Ferguson,  Adam 14fi 

Fete  Champetre  on  an  Island 

in  the  St.  Lawrence 248 

Fishing  by  torch-light 270 

Five  Nations  of  Indians 10 


INDEX. 


299 


Five  Nations  mentioned  in 
De  la  Barre'8  in- 
terview   26 

Flagrs,  Indians  painted  on —  47 
Floods,  not   felt   in  the  St. 

Lawrence 244 

Ford  Augustus,  story  of  Tom 

Garnet  as  related  by 67 

Ford  Nathan,  settles  at  Og- 

densburgh 49 

Fore8tp,iutumnal  coloring  of  270 
Forsyth  Capt ,  ex  perdition  of 

to  Ganonoque... 65 

Fort  "Blunder^' 248 

Fort    Covington,    American 

Army  at 77 

Fort  DuQuesne 35 

Fort    Frederick,     Kingston 

Harbor 251 

Fort  Frontenac.  founded —  23 
"  destroyed. --  38 

Fort  Haldimand  on  Ca;  ieton 

Island 57 

Fort  Henry,  Kingston...  145,  251 

"  court  martial  at.  94 

Fort  Hunter,Rev.  J.Stuart  at  120 

FortiflcatioES,  Indian 9 

Fort  Levis 18,  41, 46,  47, 105 

Fort  Montgomery 248 

Fort  Ontario  surrendered  to 

the  French 36 

Fort  on  Carleton  Island 49 

Fort Pepperell  evacuated...  36 
Fort   Stanwix,    attempt    to 

reach 108, 

"  Expedition  from  5a 

Fort  William  Augustus 44 

Fox  (armed  boat) 70 

Francis'  Metalic  Life  Boats.. 257 
Fraser  Thomas,  notice  of — 113 
Freight,  cost  to  Carleton  I.  53 
French  operations  on  Lake 

Ontario 32 

"    Re  volution  .scheme  of 

emigration  at  time  of  60 
"        origin  of   Popular 

Songs  in  Canada 210 

French  boundaries  claimed. 245 

"       vessel  captured 41 

French  Creek,  Indian  bound- 
ary at 12,  13 

"         named 56,  59 

French      Mills,      American 

army  at .77 

French,  Major 73 

Frigates  built  in  England  for 

lakes 78 


Frigates  rotting  at  Kingston  147 

Frontenac,  Count  de 22 

"  "       second  ex-  32 

"  peditlon   of 

in  1696 32 

•  gives        an 

Island  to  an  Indian 100 

Frontenac,  Fort,  founded...  23 
"  "    strengthened  36 

"  "     noticed    by 

Liancourt 119 

Frontenac,  (steamer) . .  .237,  256 
Frontier,St.Lawrence,inl812  62 
Frost,  agency  of  in  coloring 

leaves 273 

Frost,  Capt 13 

Fur  Trade  at  Oswego 280 

Gagnon,Ernst,Popular  Songs 

edited  by 210 

Galloo  Island  Light-House.. 254 
Gallop     Island,     site    of   a    ^ 

church  on 40 

Game  among  the  Islands — 111 

Gananoque 24 

*■  expedition  to —  65 
"  block-house  at...  81 
'*  proposed  attack  of  86 
"       noticed  by  Lieut. 

Hall 133 

"       in  1826 145 

•'  in  1831 147 

*'          Indians       ar — 172 
"          sandstone  at — 237 
"          Narrow's  Light- 
House 264 

Garangula,  the  Onondaga  or- 
ator....   26 

"       speech  of  De   la 

Barre 28 

Garden  Island  as  a  Lumber^ 

ing  Station 268 

Garneau.  cited 37 

Garnet,  Tom.,  story  of 67 

General  Pike  (vessel) 82 

General  Wolfe  (vessel) 82 

Genesee  Falls 282 

"       River  proposed  as  a  290 

boundary 246 

Geology  Thousand  Islands.. 236 
Gilbert,  M.  W.  privateering 

enterprise  or 70 

Glacial  action,  traces  of  .239,  240 
Glasgow,  Capt.  George.. 260,  261 

Gore,  Lieut.  Gov 268 

Gottenburgh,reference  to.  ..240 

Gov.  Tompkins  (vessel) 66 

Goose  Bay,  aflhlr  of 73,  74 


soo 


INDEX. 


It 


Grand  Island 180 

Grand  Sable,  Legend  of  Hia- 
watha, located  near 17 

Granite  quarries 237 

Gran'i;,  Preeldont,  at  Thous- 
and Islands 303 

Grape  Island,  Indians  settle 

on 173 

Green,  Capt.  Seymour,  Mili- 
tia under -  56 

Greenstone   dykes    in    trap 

rock 236 

Gregory,  Lieut.  Francis  H 
enterprise 

of 79 

••  ••         notice  of..  75 

"  *'        destroys  a 

vessel  at  Presque  Isle  —  81 
Grenadier  Island  (in  the  Lake) 

Gen.  Wilkinson  at 75 

Grenadier  I.(above  Brockville) 

Light-House  at 24,  35,  41 

Grey,  Capt 181 

Grindstone  Island 180 

"  '*       war  of 55 

Growler  (vessel) 81,  82 

G.  8.  Weeks  (schooner)  seized 

94,  95 

Haldimand  Papers 51 

Hall,  Lieut.  Francis 133 

Hamilton  (vessel) .81,  83 

Hannah,  Dr 178 

Happy    Islands  comparison 

with 141 

Hardenburgh,  Lieut.  G.  sur- 
prise of  Oswegatchie 52 

Hare,  Robert,  at  Oswego;  de- 
scribes Thousand  Islands281 

Harris,  Wm.  Tell 130 

Hawkins,  Lieut 77 

Hawkins,  Samuel,  Agent  in 

Boundary  Survey 248 

Henderson, French  post  at.. .  36 

Hennepin,  Louis 22 

Herald, N.Y.  Correspondence 

of- 303 

Heriot,  George 131 

Hero  (vessel) 311 

Hiawatha,  Legend  of 13 

Hickory  Island 85,  86,  87 

High  Falls  on  Black  River.. .164 

Highlander  (steamer) 153 

Highlanders  at  Carleton  Is- 
land  383 

Hinds,  Frank  A.,  engineer.. 

230-333 

Hoffman,  Mr 165 


Hoffman.,  Miss  Ann 166 

Hogan,  J.  S.,  Prize  Essay  by-176 
Hogel,  Mr  ,  sent  to  Carleton 

Island 68 

Holland  Dr.  J.G 206 

Howe's  Island 180 

How3on,  John 188 

Hubbard.  Capt.  Abner.  cap- 
tures Carleton  Island —  64 

Human  Race,  origin  of 18 

Humphrey's  Life  of  General 

Putnam.noticed 42 

Hunter  Lodges 84 

Hydrographical    and    Topo- 
graphical Surveys 260 

He  in  Chevreaux 49 

He  in  Chovreuils 82 

He  Royale 39,  43 

Indian  History 9 

Indian  Paintings  on  Rocks  19 
Indian  Trade,  efforts  to  mo- 
nopolize  33 

Indian  Love  Song Ill 

"       wounded  oy  a  dog...  112 
"       trade  at  Oswego .  .279,  380 

"       Summer 271 

Indians,  origin  of  Race 18 

"       superstition  concern- 
ing bears 124 

Indians  among  the  Thousand 

Islands 127 

Indians   assist    in    building 

Church 120 

Indians  among  the  Islands  ■  ■  179 
Inqisitiveness  of  Strangers.. 313 
International  Camp-Ground  335 
"  character     of 

the  Island  Parks 233 

Iron  Mines  in  Jefferson  Co. 

238-239 

Iroquois  Indians 9,  10 

•'  Legend  of  League — 14 
"  avenging  inroad  by.  31 
"      Indians  at  Toniata.-lOO 

Irving,  Washington 164 

Island  Packet  (vessel)  burned  64 

Island  Parks 304 

Islands,  Canadian  title  of 173 

Islands  in  St.  Lawrence,  Sim- 
coe  desires  to  include  in 

Canada 346,347 

Islands,  Title  of  effected  by 

Boundary  Survey 249 

Islands,  names  of 291  to  294 

Jack-Straw  Light-House — 254 

James,  Capt.  A.  B.,  cannon  «| 

consigned  to 95 


INDEX. 


SOI 


James  (Seiveant) 71 

Jameson,  Mrs.,  Impressions 

of  the  Lake 276 

Jay's  Treaty 49,246,262 

Jefferson  Co.,  Indian  traces 

in 9 

Jefferson     Co.,     Castorland 

company  in..  60 
'•  "  Mineral  iocali- 

ties  in 237 

Jefferson  (vessel) 82 

Jeffreys,  Thomas,  cited 100 

Jobson,  Hev.  P.  J 177 

Johnson,  Major 84 

Johnson,  Sir  John,  residence 

of 115 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  dream 

of 107 

Johnston,  Wm 87,  91 

burns  the  Sir 
Robert  Peel--  87 

**        search  for 89 

"        arrested 90 

"        pardoned 91 

"        keeper  of  a  Light- 
House 91 

Johnstown,  notice  of 91 

(Canada)        settle- 
ment of 269 

Julia  Island  (near  Sicily) — 163 
Julia  (vessel)  affair  of.  ^ — 64,  65 

•'    mentioned 65 

66,  67,  81,  82. 

Kaihahage,  location  of 26 

'Kate  Johnston' ^!;\  91 

King,  Preston ..203 

Kinjr's  birth-day  « t  Carleton 

Island ...52,  53 

Kingston,  capture  proposed-    9 
70 

*'         alarm  at 85,86 

"         the  Seat  of  Govern- 
ment  96 

"         as  describeed  byP. 

Campbell 115 

"         as    seen   by  Lian- 

court 119 

"         as     described     by 

Weld 125 

'•         not      visited      by 

Prince  of  Wales. -.181 
"         impression     of    a 

Boat  Song  heard  at  .220 
"         Harbor,      engage- 
ment in 66 

"         Military     Surveys 
ftround. 251 


Kingston,  Military  School  at.251 
'*         examined  as  a  Mili- 
tary Station 268 

"         (steamer) 181 

Knapp's  Point  Light-Hou8e.256 

Knox  cited 39 

4147 
Kohl,  J.  G.  bear-years  notic- 
ed by 123 

"         describes    the  Is- 
lands  166 

"         describes  the  lake275 
"         description         of 

autumnal  scenery270 

Lachine.  Indians  attack 31 

Bapids.-.- 121 

Lady  Dalhousie  (steamer).. .145 
Lady  of  the  Lake  (steamer).280 
(vessel)  82  83 
La  Famine,  De  la  Barre  at..  26 
La  Force,  French  naval  offi- 
cer  46 

La  Fort,  Abram 13 

LaGalette 99,  125 

Ija  Gard  at  La  Presentation. .  34 

La  Hontan  cited 11,  13,  26 

Lake  Champlain,  boundaries 

claimed  on.. 245 

"  Fort  on 248 

Lake  Erie,  surveys   by  Mr. 

Niff 250 

Lake  Frontenac,  Ontario  is  so 

called 283 

Lake    Nipessing,    boundary 

run  to 346 

Lake  Ontario  first  visited  by 

Champlain 20 

"  early  accounts  of 

towns  near. -..--. 277 
*'  impressions     of 

by  travellei^ — 276 
"  military  and  na- 

val preparations 

on 69,78 

"  surveys  by  Mr. 

Niff.-..250-U.8.251 
"  apostrophe  to.  .277 

Lake  of  the  Dismal  Swamp, 
Moore's  poem  on, 

reference  to 221 

Lake  Ridges 241 

Lake  Simcoe,  Lake  Ridges  of  .242 
Lake  Superior,  Legend  of  Hi- 

awatha,located  near  17 
"       bears  in  region  of- -123 
Lakes,  Dr.  Kohl's  economical 

view  of 275 


SOS 


INDEX. 


II 


Lakes,  In  primary  region — 238 
Landon,  Capt.,  capture  of...  80 

La  Presentation 33 

"             a  rendezvous 
for  Indian  par- 
ties   34 

"  abandoned...  48 

Lareau,  Mr.,  opinlonlof  Cre- 

mazle's  style 225 

LaBochefoucauld-LiancourtllT 
"  at  Kingston. -118 

'•  notice  of  Car- 

leton    Island 

by 119 

La  Salle,  explorations  of —  23 

Laurentian  rocks 236,239 

Lead  Mines,  Kossie 237 

League  of  the  Iroquois,  le- 
gend of 14 

Legend  of  the  League  of  Hia- 
watha.-   .  13 
LeMaIn,  Mon8--.--i..'-'---.26,  30 

Le  Molne,  Father  Simon 20 

LeRay,  Alexander 144 

LeBay  de  Chaumout, notice  of  62 
"  names  of 

family  of -63 
"  applied  to 

places —  62 

LeRay,  town  named 62 

Letters-of-Marque  granted  on 

Lake  Ontiirio 70 

Level  of  LakeKidges 242 

Levis,  Cheveller  de 40,  44 

Lewis  Co.,  Castorland  partly 

in 60 

Lewis,  George 153 

Life  Saving  Stations .257 

Light  Houses.- -174,  252,  253,  254 

Limestone 238 

Limnaide,  (ship) 54 

Lindoe  Island  Light-House.. 254 

Little  Bound  Island 234 

Loch  Awe,  allusion  to 306 

Loch  Lomond,  allusion  to,131,206 
London   Times,  correspond- 
ent  181 

Long,  John 107 

"     account  of  Oswego  by  .283 
"     Palls,  on  Black  BIver..l64 
Longfellow's  version  of  Hia- 
watha  13.14,17 

Loons  captured  by  Fronte- 

nac 24, 173, 174 

Lorlmier,  V.  F.,  builds  a  mill 

at  Oswegatchle 48 

Loring,  Captain 39,  41,  42,  42 


Lossing,  Benson  J 179 

'*       account  of  expedition 

to  Gananoque  by 65 

Field-Book  (1813)  cited  66 

Love  Song,  Indian Ill 

Lowville,  Washington  Irving 

at Ifti 

Loyalists  settle  in  Canada —  63 
Lumbering  upon  the  St.  Law- 
rence   257 

Lycurgus,  laws  given  by 16 

Lyell,  Prof.  Charles,  geologi- 
cal observations  by 240 

Lyon,  Caleb,  of  LyonsdaIe.--334 

Lyrics,  Tom  Moore's 221 

Macauley,  Mr 263 

McClellan,   Lieut,    at   Of^e- 

gatchie 52 

McDonnell,  Wm.,  storekeeper. 54 
McDonnell's  wharf,  Sir  Rob- 
ert Peel  burned  at 87 

Macgregor  .John 147 

McKay  William,  noticed 115 

McKenzicMaj.  H.  .letter  from  267 
McLean,  Neil,  Assistant  Com. 

General  at  (>arleton  Isl...  54 
Macomb,Gen.,at  Sackets  Har- 
bor  89 

Macomb's  Purchase  noticed.  60 
"  Islands  not  Includ- 

edin 55 

Macpherson,  Capt.  R.  R.,  action 

at  Bartlett's  Point 76 

Madison  (vessel) 82 

Maltland,   French   ship-yard 

near 39 

Malon,  Mrs  H.,  translation  of 

a  boat  song  by 219 

Mammoth,  tusk  of 19 

Manatoana,  lirtitious  name  of 

Islands 203 

Mann,  Capt.,  sent  to  examine 

Carleton  Island 259' 

Man te  Thomas  cited 34,41 

Map  of  Fort  Levis  by  Maute . 

(see  frontispiece) 40 

"    by  Mr.  Unwin 173 

Maple  Leaf  (steamer) 175 

Maple  leaves,  coloring 270 

Marcou,  Father 161 

Marmier,  Xavier 157,  211,  215 

"        voyages  on  Lake  On- 
tario   289 

Marselis,  Arent,  an  early  sur- 
veyor  13 

Martin  Capt 73 

Massacre,  yeargf  the 89 


I 


tNBEX. 


80S 


1 


* 


e 


Massey,  Lieut.  Col. 43 

Menard,  Father 23 

Mercer  Colonel,8urrender8  Os- 

weorv-) 37 

Methodist  Camp  Ground 235 

Park 204 

Miami  River  proposed  as  a 

boundary 24fi 

MiKrution  of  squirrels  and  ot 

bears 123 

Military  Class-Uiprht   located 

on  Carleton  Island M 

"      school  at  Kingston- . -2r)l 
"     surveys  around  Kings- 
ton  251 

Militia,  New  York.at  Clayton 

and  Cape  Vincent 8fi 

Mille  lies  named 2() 

of  Cremazie— .225,  25J8 

Mills,  Lieut.  Col 84 

Milnes,  Capt 73  T4 

Mineral  localities 235,237 

Ministry  of  Agriculture  and 

Statistics 50 

Missisagua  (vessel) 111,28',  261 

MiBsiesaguas,  owners  of  Isl- 
ands   171 

**  account  of 172 

Mission  Indian  at  Oswegatchie33 
on  Grape  Island.  172 

Missionaries,  French 21 

Mohawk  (vessel)  .39,  43,  54, 82  110 
Mohawks,  expeditions  against  20 
"       attack  the  Mission  at 

Oswegatchie 33 

Montcalm,General,at  Oswego  iMJ 
Montreal,Indian  descent  upon31 
"       capture  proposed. 69,  75 
"       Seat  of  Government 

at 96 

Montserat  captured  by  De  la 

Barre 25 

Monument  proposed  at  Sack- 

ets  Harbor 83 

Moore,  Thomas,  letter  to  his 

mother  by .223 

"     BoatSon^ ....223 

Morristown,  Indian  paintings 

near 19 

"  International 

Camp  Ground 

near 235 

Murney's  Redoubt,  Kingston 

Harbor - 251 

Mythological  origin  of  the  hu- 
man race 17 

Name  of  St.  Lawrence 19 


Names  of  Islands SOI 

Narrows,geological  notice  of.240 
Naval  enterprise  upon  Lake 

Ontario  in  1814 77 

"     forces  In  1812 81 

' 1813 81,82 

"     station  at  Carleton  Isl- 
and  83,110 

"     stores    destroyed     at 

Sackets  Harbor 70 

Navigation  in  1673 23 

described  by  Roger.  131 

Neptune  (armed  boat) 70 

Newcastle,  Duke  of 180 

New  Orleans  (vessel) 83 

New  York  Herald,   corres- 
pondent  181 

"  (steamer) 256 

Niagara  fortified 32 

"       reduced 38 

"       Light  House  at 254 

P.  Campbell  at 117 

(in  1874) 283 

"     Rlver,8quirrel8  cross  124 

Nicholson,  Capt.  Joseph 84 

Niff,  Mr.,  topographical  sur- 
veys by 260 

Number  of  Canadian  Islands.  173 
Oaths  of  allegiance,  taken  at 

Carleton  Island 63 

Ocean,  former  level  of 242 

Ogden,  Miss  Eli7« 166 

John  C 129 

"       Samuel,  proprietor  of 

Ogdeiisburgh 49 

Ogdensburgh  settled 49 

war  of  1812 64 

*'  M.  Ampere  at-. 161 

"  Irving  at- -.164, 166 

"  noticed  by  Dr. 

Kohl 168 

Light  House... 253 
Ohio  River,  French  aggres- 
sions on  the 33 

"    Kceneryof  the 137 

Ohquasse,    name    of   M.   Le 

Main 26 

Oneida  (first  steamer) 255 

"      (steamer) 88 

"     Lake,  army  seen  pass- 
ing  46 

"  "    In  1773 37 

"     (vessel) 66,82 

Oneidas,  Penefs   operations 

among  the 57 

*'       sent  on  an  expedi- 
tion  52 


SOJI, 


INDEX. 


Onnondakoui  (Gananoquo)--  24 

Onoudaffa  (vessel) 39.43, 110 

Onondagas,  part  of,  removed 

to  Oswejfatchie 33 

Ontario  (.  ussel) 81,  83 

'*      and    St.    Lawrence 

Steamboat  Co 257 

Oraconenton  Isle 18,39,44 

Orangemen  on  the  Prince  of 

Wales'  journey 181 

Order-book  relatin^r  to  Carle- 
ton  Island 52 

Orflranic  remains 237,2;j8 

Origin  oC  the  human  race 17 

Ossahinta  (Capt.  Frost) 13 

Oswegatchie,  Indian  mission 

at 33,34 

'*            post  at,  surren- 
dered  35 

"  Lord  Amherst 

at 41 

"           under  the  Eng- 
lish  48 

•*  attempt  to  sur- 

Brlse 52 
[r   Long's  ac- 

countof 109 

"  described    by 

Mr.  Weld 125 

Oswego,  Indian  name  and  its 

mealing — 15 

fortified 32,33 

"        as  seen  by  John  Bar- 
tram 274 

"  capture  of  in  1756...  36 
*'  Lord  Amherst  at. 38,  45 
"        Mr.  Long  at. -..108,  283 

in  1793 V83 

"        Oswego  described  by 

Mr.  Weld r?5 

Falls  in  1743 27 

"     "    ^'  1774 281 

Ottawa,  seat  of  Government 

at 96 

Otondiata 24 

Outaoualse  (vessel) -  46 

Owen,  Capt.   W.  F.  W.,  sur- 
veys the  River 250 

Painting  in  two  colors 45 

Paintings    a  rooks  on  St.Law- 

rence 19 

Palisades,  glacial  action  seen 

at 240 

Paris,  Canadian  songs  in 211 

Parks  and  encampments 229 

"     Herald's  account  of... -204 
PaASotiven  at  Carleton  lBlan(l,283 


Passage,  price  of  on  lake 129 

Passe  u  rOues,  Wisconsin — 124 

"Patriot"  War 84  to  96 

Patriots,guard  to  prevent  sur- 
prise bv 158 

Pearson's  island 284 

Peiiet,impo8ture8  of — 56, 57,  68 

Penet's  Square,  history  of —  56 

trust  deed  of.  62 

Pennington,  Lieut 4yJ 

Perro t  Q  overnor 22 

Perry,  Lieut 70,  71 

Pert,  (vessel) 81,82 

Petit  Detroit  ceremony  at... 105 

Petite  Jeanneton—words 216 

music 217 

Pharoux,PiejTe,  agent  of  Cas- 

torland 61 

"       at  Oswego ...284 

Phillips.  Lieut 42 

Picquet,  Abbe 44 

described  by  Mante.  34 

by  LaLande 34 

Pictured    Rocks,    legend  of 
Hiawatha  located  near..  17 

Pigeons,  flights  of 122 

Pike,  Gen.  Z.  M 84 

killed 70 

Pike  (vessel) 82 

Pilots  taken  at  Fort  Levis...  48 

Pimitiscotyan  Landing 106 

Pinckney.  source  of  Sandy 

Creek  in 18 

Pink  mist,  of  Indian  summer271 
Pipe,  an  itinerary  measure.. '21 
Plan   of     Government     for 

Oneidas 57 

"     ofUnion 33 

Point  au  Baril 39,  105 

"    English  army  at  46 
Point  Peninsula,    Montcalm 

at 36 

*'  "         speculative 

city  at... 62 

Point  Vittoria 233 

Porter,  Peter   B.,  Boundary 

Commissioner 247 

Porter,  Capt 260,261 

Potsdam  sandstone 237,  239 

Pottery,  ancient 10 

Pouchot,  Indian  tradition  as 

given  by 17 

*'        mal-admlnistration 

recorded  by 37 

"        commands  at  Fort 
Levi8-..43,44,45,47, 105 
Presbyterian  Park 204  232 


t 


INDEX. 


SOS 


Presoott.  settlement  of 5W9 

"        descent  upon IW 

Pren(|Uo  Isle,  proposed  as  a 

boundary 248 

Preston  T.    R.   account    of 

Hickory  Island  by 87 

Prince  Edward  Peninsula — 168 

Prince  of  Wales'  tour 100 

Incident  of  a 

Boat  SouHT 211 

Prince  Regent  (vessel)  66,  81,  82 
Privateering  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence  70 

Prize  money  paid  for  Gun- 
boat Black  Snake 80 

Prospect  Park 235 

Province  of  Quebec,  bounds 

of 244 

Psyche  frigate,  brought   in 

frame  from  England 147 

Pullman,  Geo.  W 203 

Putnam,  Lieut.-Col.  Israel ..  42 

Pyrola 174 

Quaker,  an  Indian  so-called.  100 
Quarries    among    Thousand 

Islands ...237 

Quebec,  reduced 38 

"        bounds  of  province 

of 245 

Queen's  Ranges  at  Toronto. 277 
Rapids,  mode  of  ascending.. 132 
Bathery,  M.  opinion  cited.. .211 

Raven,  (vessel) 82 

Red-Horse  Light-House 265 

Refugees  at  Carleton  Island.  53 

Renfrew,  Baron 180 

Richardson,  Wm.  locates  a 
class-right    on    Carleton 

Island 54 

Bideau  Canal 148 

Rochester  Falls  described  by 

R.  Hare 282 

"     alluded  to  by 

Marmier 270 

Rock  Island  Light 91,253 

Roger,    Charles,  description 

by 113 

"        account  of  Cranber- 
ry Creek — 73 

Rossieiead  mines 3s7 

Round  Island  Park 234 

Rouse's  Point,  boundary  at .  248 
Royal  George,  (vessel).. 66,  81.  82 
Boyal     Highland  Emigrants 

at  Carleton  Island 53 

Rutland,  Indian  antiquities 
in  town  of 10 


Sacket,  Augustus 286 

Sack<!t8  Harbor,  battle  of...  70 
"  "        proposed 

raonunientat 83 

Safty  of  steam  navigation..  .257 

Saguenay,  scenery  of  the V 

St.  Croix,  bears  in 124 

St.  Francis  Indians,  a  rem- 
nant of  the  Algon(iuin8..  12 

Si  Germains,  Earl  of 180 

St.  Lawrence  Central  Carap- 

? -round 235 
/O.,  Indian  an- 
tiquities in 9 

"  minerals  in. 235,  2.37 

"  Frontier,  in  1812  62 

"  River  named---  19 

"  privateering  on 

the 70 

«•  depth  of 243 

*'  importance     of 

commerce  on  .168 
St.  Regis,  part     of     Oswe- 
gatchies    remove 

to 34 

"         Indians  claim  Isl- 
ands   55 

♦•         church   at 129 

"         boundary   at 246 

San  DomingcPenet's  impos- 
tures at 58 

Sandstone  quarries 237 

Sandy   Creek,  Indian  tradi- 
tion concerning 18 

Sauthier,  Claude  Josepb,sur- 

veys  by 246 

Saxe-Weimar,  Duke  of 144 

Scalp  found  on  Gallop  Island  40 

Scalp  Point 23 

Scanouton,  a  kind  of  deer...  24 
Schoedde,  Capt.  Theodore.. -.284 
Schoolcraft's  connection 
with    legend  of  Hiawa- 
tha  13,  14 

Schools,  Indian 172 

Scott,  Lieut 73,74 

Seal  of  Castorland 61 

Search  for  Johnston's  partv.  89 
Seasons,   influence    of     the 

Lake  upon 268 

Seat  of  Government  of  Can- 
ada   96 

Seneca  Lake 107 

"  (vessel) 64 

66,  81,  82,  125,  259. 
Settlement  on  St.  Lawrence 
in  1812 62,  63 


$06 


INDWX. 


' 


■•V 


Seward,  (Jov.  Wm.  H aai 

Ship-buildliiflr  at  Kingston...  128 
Simcoe,  Llout-Oov.,    policy 

<)f 119 

•'  "  letter  to 

Gov. 
(:!larkp.-2<K) 
"  ••  estubl- 

ishi'S  To- 
ronlo  ...27H 
••  **  boiirulH  - 

rleH     ul- 
lowod  bv  2-M; 

**       (vessel) «W,  8l.Hi 

"       papers 51 

Sinclair,  Lieut 4;i 

Sir   Robert     Peel,     steamer 

burned 87 

Sister  Island's  Llffbt-h(»use..2r):j 
Six-town  Point,  fVench  Post 

on  m 

Skulls  found  on  the  Islands. Hi 
Slave    Sonifs,  ot   the  South 

comparison  with 2(Mi 

Smith,  Albert V4» 

SmuggliuKt  former  notoriety 
of  French  Creek 

for 59 

"         facllitios  for 13<1 

Song  of  Hiawatha, referred  to  14 

Songs,  popular 209 

impressions,  Marmier  158 

Sophia,  (  essel),  burned 64 

Soundings,    false    alarm  on 

account  of 116 

Sparham,  Thos.,  assist,  bar- 
rack master 54 

Spectacle       Shoal       Light- 
House 255 

Snencer,  Capt.  A 84 

Spitfire  (gunboat) 71 

Split  Rock  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  ancient  boundary 

on 12 

Squirrel-years 1 22 

Squirrels    mode  of  crossing 

rivers 125 

"Station  Island,"  of  Cooper.  101 
Steamers, former  importance 

of -.-257 

Steam  navigation  upon  the 

St.  Lawrence 255 

Stephenson,  T.  B.,  song  by 

referred  to 232 

Stone  implements,  ancient..  10 
Storm    on     Lake     Ontario, 
Campbell's  account  of.. .116 


Straits  of  Malacca,  compari- 
son  160 

Stuart,  Rev.  John 115,120 

Subterranean  movements. . .24^ 
Huiclde   ol  one  of     Penat's 

victims :-.  59 

Sunk«Mi  Hook  Light-House. 253 

Hunselon  the  Liike 270 

Sup(>rstiti(>ns,     Indian,    con- 
cerning boni*8 124 

Superior,  (vessel) 82 

Survey  of  lakes 950 

Swiss  scenery,  reference  to..  163 

Sydenham,  Lord 96 

Sylph,  (vessel) H2 

T^uhivara  Head 290 

Taylor.  Oon.  Dick 208 

Taylor,  (1.  L 200 

'        geological  article  by  239 

Te-can-on-on-a-n  nne-si 18 

Teesdale.  Major 180 

Temperance  reflection 117 

Temple  of  Dirt 165 

Theresa  named 63 

Ticonderoga  reduced 38 

Thousand  Island  Park... 204,  229 
TIbbetts  Point  Light  House. 253 

Tides  In  Lake 244 

Tillier,Rodolph,  agent  of  Cas- 

torland 63 

Timber  thieves 202 

Title  of  Canadian  Islands....  172 

Title  to  Carleton  Island 64 

"     "   other  American  Isl- 
ands  56 

Toniata,  Island, 24,99, 100 

Indians  abandon...  46 

Topograph icHl  surveys V50 

Torch-light,  fishing  by V70 

Toronto,  seat  of  govern m't  at  96 
Prof.  Ly ell's  geologi- 
cal studies  near 241 

"        beginning  at 277 

•'        cannon  removed 

to 260,  361 

Traditions  of  Indian  wars. 10, 12 
Transportation   to    Carleton 

Island 53 

Trap-dykes  in  gneiss  rock ...236 

Treaty  of  G hent v47, 249 

Trench  enclosures,  ancient-.    9 

Trenton  Limestone .238 

Tudor,  Henry 148 

Tuttle,  Colonel 84 

Ulysses,  allusion  to 201 

Uniform  of  naval  oflBcers  in 
1796 110 


' 


INDEX. 


S07 


' 


tJ.  B.  Ix^yallstB 108, 109 

United  States  Lake  Hurvey8..85t 
(st«'ttuier)....92,  94 

Unwin,  Mr.,  man  by 173 

UtttWHH  River,  Moore's  boat 

son*  refers  to 223 

Vallontine,  Thomas,  surveys 

bv ''!45 

VanBuren,  Martin  and  Jobn.20;i 

Vandevonter,  Lieut 84 

Vanllensseluer.  General  It —  85 

Vaudrevil.  M.  de 44 

VauKiian,  William. -.05, 79,  80,  90 
*^         arrests  "Bill"  John- 
son       90 

Venice,  allusion  to 201.  202 

Vermont  lioundary 240 

French  In 23 

Vessels  nt  Kingston 147 

'•      British,  war  of  1812,64,82 
"      sent  in  Iramea  from 
England,  ior  the  lakes  78 

•'      to  be  built  in  1814 78 

VlUers.  M.  dc.  at  Six-tom  Ft.  m 
Visions  of  Mirzah.alluHinnto  141 
VonSchoults,    ooniinands   at 

battle  of  the  Windmill. ..  94 
Vovageurs  dt'serihed-12t),13y,  14(> 

Waketield,  Priscilla i:» 

Walker,  Lieutenant~(.'olonel-2<U 
Warburton,Eliot,on  Lake  On- 
tario  270 

War  between  Algomiuins  and 

Iroquois 10, 11 

War  parties,  accounts  from..  4»» 

"    of  1813, --«;ito84 

"  of  Grindstone  Island..  .V) 
Watertown,  anthiuities  neai.  10 
Webster-Ashburton  Treaty. '-449 


Weld,   Isaac,  Jr.,   notice    of 

Carleton  Island  by HO 

Wellesley    Island,   origin  of 

name 293 

Wells.  Lieut.,  of  vessel  Julia.  «5 

Wells  Island.  Parks  on 204 

180,243 

William..., 267 

Wesk'van  Mission 172 

Westni luster  Park 804 

"  cor|>oration  of  232 

WeterlnKhra-(Ju«'ntere,    In- 
dian nanu' of  French  creek  12 
White  canoe.legen<I  of  the  14. 17 
Whittier.  Autumnal  scenery 

d«'scribed  by '275 

Width   of  8t.    Lawrence  at 

Prescott i:W 

Wilkinson's  Expedltlon.75  to  77 

Williamson,  Colonel 41,43 

Williams,  Hev.  Bleazer.  trans- 
lation of  Indian  name  by.  13 
Wilson,    Alexander,  descrip- 

ti<m  of  Oswego  by VI 

Windmill  HHtth-  of y2-94 

WingKtivttichard,  at  Carleton 

Island 54 

Winslow,  Miss,  verses  by 824 

Wiscoi'sin,  bears  in 124 

Wolfe  Iflaitd 168 

"  "     as   a   lumbering 

slutiim 2.58 

•'  **     Canadian  militia 

un 86 

'*           "     Light  House. -.255 
Woolsey,  Co.uaiodore,  at  Os- 
wego   101 

Worth.  Col.  at  Brockville....  95 
Wright,  Silas 203 


UNIFORM    WITH    THIS    WORK: 


r  w« 


■I 


CAMPS  AND  TRAMPS 

IN   THE 

ADIRONDACKS, 

BY    A.    JXJr>r>    NORTH RXJI>. 

16mo.,  pp.  302.  price,  $1.25. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  PRESS  NOTICES: 

Much  interesting  personal  experience  freshly  narrated. — 
JV.  Y.  Daily  Tribune. 

The  hints  about  other  accessible  grayling  rivers  in 
Michigan  are  trustworthy,  as  his  descriptions  of  the 
habits  of  the  iish  and  their  way  of  taking. — The  Nation, 
Neic  York. 

The  book  may  also  be  relied  upon  as  perhaps  the  most 
accurate  guide  yet  published  of  the  chief  points  of  at- 
traction in  this  famous  and  charming  region. — Syracuse 
Daily  Courier. 

It  bristles  all  over  with  information  about  shooting  and 
fishing,  which  every  amateur  sportsman  will  appreciate. — 
Syracuse  Evening  Herald. 

The  book  is  a  pleasant  and  timely  addition  to  fish  lore 
and  angling  literature. — George  Dawson,  in  the  Albany 
E))ening  Journal. 

It  is  fresh  and  breezy  with  the  aroma  and  spice  of  the 
North  Woods. — /.  A.  Henshall,  Autlior  of  "  The  Black 
Bass." 

It  is  the  sentiment  of  the  wilderness  transported  to  our 
city  homes.  It  is  the  aesthetics  of  the  woods. —  Utica  Maim- 
ing Herald. 

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lightful wilds,  it  will  give  a  fair  notion  of  the  manner  in 
which  holidays  may  be  passed  there,  while  to  those  who 
have  already  "camped  and  tramped"  in  the  scenes  de- 
scribed, it  will,  by  refreshing  their  recollection,  bring  back 
some  of  the  old  enjoyment. — Montreal  Olobe. 

Sent,  post  paid,  on  receipt  of  the  price,  by 

Davis,  Bardeen  &  Co.,  Publishers, 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 


t: 


IPS 


iTated. — 

rivers  in 
J  of  the 
!  Nation, 

the  most 
ts  of  at- 
■Syracuse 

)ting  and 
^eciate. — 

fish  lore 
e  Albany 

ice  of  the 
''he  Black. 

3d  to  our 
ica  Morn- 

those  de- 
nanner  in 
those  who 
scenes  de- 
»ring  hack 


ers, 
}.  N.  Y. 


